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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Anim. Sci.
Sec. Animal Physiology and Management
Volume 5 - 2024 |
doi: 10.3389/fanim.2024.1418557
Evaluation of the use of prenatal immune stimulation to alter postnatal immune function in weaned pigs
Provisionally accepted- 1 Livestock Issues Research Unit, Agricultural Research Service (USDA), Lubbock, United States
- 2 Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas, United States
- 3 University of Missouri, Columbia, Kentucky, United States
This study was designed to determine whether exposure to low dose endotoxin (lipopolysaccharide; LPS) during gestation can enhance immunity to a subsequent LPS challenge in piglets after weaning. Pregnant sows (parity: 2.6 ± 1.4) were assigned to prenatal immune stimulation (PIS; n = 7; administered 2.5 µg/kg BW LPS i.m.) or saline treatment groups (CON; n = 7) administered at d 78 ± 1.8 of gestation. From the 2 prenatal treatment groups, barrows (n = 17 PIS, 17 CON) were identified at weaning (21 ± 1.3 d of age) to subsequently receive a post-weaning LPS challenge. On d -1, pigs were fitted with indwelling jugular catheters and subcutaneous temperature loggers. On d 0, pigs were challenged i.v. with LPS (10 µg/kg BW), and blood samples were collected at -2, 0, 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 12, and 24 h relative to LPS challenge. There was a treatment × time interaction for subcutaneous temperature (P < 0.01), where temperature increased more quickly at 1 and 2 h post-challenge in PIS compared to CON pigs. There was a tendency (P = 0.08) for less change in white blood cells, relative to baseline values, in PIS compared to CON pigs. There was a treatment × time interaction (P = 0.01) for lymphocyte concentrations where concentrations were reduced in PIS compared to CON pigs at 8 h post-challenge. There was also a treatment × time interaction (P = 0.01) for the change in eosinophil concentrations, where there was less change in eosinophil concentrations from 1 to 12 h in PIS compared to CON pigs. There was a tendency (P ≤ 0.06) for a treatment × time interaction for serum interleukin-6 (IL-6) and IL-8. Granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor tended to be greater, and tumor necrosis factor-α tended to be reduced in PIS compared to CON pigs (P ≤ 0.08). These data suggest that exposure to endotoxin in utero may influence the postnatal innate immune response to endotoxin. More research is necessary to further understand the mechanism behind the differences observed and the potential long-term influence of prenatal immune stimulation on pig offspring.
Keywords: acute phase response, cytokine, gestation, innate immunity, lipopolysaccharide, pig, prenatal immune stimulation
Received: 16 Apr 2024; Accepted: 13 Aug 2024.
Copyright: © 2024 Burdick Sanchez, Mitchell, Broadway, Bowen, Davis, Dobbins, Barker, Legako, Petry and Carroll. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Nicole C. Burdick Sanchez, Livestock Issues Research Unit, Agricultural Research Service (USDA), Lubbock, United States
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