Abstract
Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) is a chronic and immunosuppressive viral disease that is responsible for substantial economic losses for the swine industry. Honeybee venom (HBV) is known to possess several beneficial biological properties, particularly, immunomodulatory effects. Therefore, this study aimed at evaluating the effects of HBV on the immune response and viral clearance during the early stage of infection with porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) in pigs. HBV was administered via three routes of nasal, neck, and rectal and then the pigs were inoculated with PRRSV intranasally. The CD4+/CD8+ cell ratio and levels of interferon (IFN)-γ and interleukin (IL)-12 were significantly increased in the HBV-administered healthy pigs via nasal and rectal administration. In experimentally PRRSV-challenged pigs with virus, the viral genome load in the serum, lung, bronchial lymph nodes and tonsil was significantly decreased, as was the severity of interstitial pneumonia, in the nasal and rectal administration group. Furthermore, the levels of Th1 cytokines (IFN-γ and IL-12) were significantly increased, along with up-regulation of pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α and IL-1β) with HBV administration. Thus, HBV administration—especially via the nasal or rectal route—could be a suitable strategy for immune enhancement and prevention of PRRSV infection in pigs.
Highlights
Honeybee (Apis mellifera) venom (HBV) has long been used as a therapeutic agent in alternative medicine for alleviation of pain, inflammation, and some immune system-related diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis [1]
On the basis of our previous report, this study aimed at addressing several objectives: (a) evaluating the immunostimulatory efficacy of Honeybee venom (HBV) in the pig immune system; (b) assessing the viral clearance activity of an HBV product containing melittin, chrysin and pinocembrin in pigs experimentally infected with Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) virus (PRRSV; as an initial step towards the prevention of the viral diseases) and to elucidate the host immune responses, especially the pro-inflammatory response and changes in Th1-related cytokines, including IFN-γ, IL-12, TNF-α, and IL-1β; and (c) determining whether nasal, neck, and rectal administration of HBV
The HBV components pinocembrin, chrysin and melittin were detected by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)
Summary
Honeybee (Apis mellifera) venom (HBV) has long been used as a therapeutic agent in alternative medicine for alleviation of pain, inflammation, and some immune system-related diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis [1]. Accumulating evidence indicates that HBV exerts immunomodulatory effects on Th1 responses. Perrin-Cocon et al [3] and Ramoner et al [4] reported that a phospholipase in HBV induces the maturation of dendritic cells and activates dendritic-cell associated immune responses. The principal component that is extracted from the water-soluble phase of HBV, has been reported to show multiple pharmacological effects, such as anti-microbial [5,6], anti-viral [7], and anti-cancer [8]
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