Abstract
AbstractThere is a growing body of evidence to suggest direct involvement of the cytokines interleukin-1 (IL-1), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) in the initiation of skeletal muscle catabolism and depressions in growth performance as a result of diseases, while TNF-α and IL-6 are presumably under the control of IL-1. An experiment was conducted to investigate whether an interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1ra) could reduce growth depressions in a model of subclinical disease in growing pigs. In this study, 24 crossbred barrows and gilts were randomly assigned to three treatments: (1) healthy control (HC), saline infusion; (2) sick control (SC), infection withMycoplasma hyopneumoniaeand vaccination with porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome modified live virus (PRRSV) vaccine and saline infusion; (3) SC plus infusion with IL-1ra (SC+IL-1ra). An additional six pigs were killed at the initiation of the trial to determine initial body composition for estimation of carcass nutrient retention rates. During the 28-day experimental period, the SC pigs had growth performance similar to that of the HC pigs and the highest levels of plasma cytokines (P<0·10). The SC+IL-1ra pigs had growth performance similar to the HC pigs, but the SC+Il-1ra pigs tended to have higher growth rates than the SC pigs (P<0·10), the highest carcass protein accretion rate (P<0·10) and similar levels of plasma cytokines compared with the HC pigs. Plasma levels of insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) on day 22 tended to be higher (P<0·10) in the HC pigs compared with the SC or SC+IL-1ra pigs and treatment×sex interaction was observed on day 29; the IGF-1 levels tended to be higher in SC+IL-1ra gilts and SC barrows (P<0·10). These results indicate that infusion with IL-1ra in a model of subclinical disease helps attenuate the catabolic effects of immune system stimulation.
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