Abstract
Many factors can lead to an inadequate development of piglets during their first days of life, including poor maternal behavior, which can be due to pain caused by farrowing, and reduced colostrum ingestion. This study investigates the action of meloxicam administered orally at farrowing on piglet weight gain and immunity transfer. Thirty-five multiparous sows were divided into two groups and treated with 0.4 mg/kg of oral meloxicam (oral meloxicam group; n = 18) or with a mock administration (control group; n = 17). A total of 382 piglets were individually weighed on the farrowing day (day 0), as well as on days +9 and +20. Immunoglobulin G (IgG) and A (IgA) concentrations in piglet serum and in sow's saliva, colostrum and milk were measured. Additionally, Interleukin-2 (IL-2), Interleukin-4 (IL-4) and Interferon gamma (IFN-⋎) in serum of piglets and in sow's milk or colostrum were studied. All samples were obtained on days +1, +9, and +20. Piglets from sows in the oral meloxicam group tended to grow faster from day +9 to day +20 than did piglets from control sows (p = 0.059), and this difference was also observed in piglets with low body weight (BW) at birth (p = 0.056). The oral meloxicam group sows tended to increase the colostrum levels of IgA and IgG, as compared with control sows on day +1 (p = 0.068 and p = 0.072, respectively). IgA levels in piglet serum from the oral meloxicam group were significantly higher than in the control group on day +1 and +9 (p = 0.019 and p = 0.011 respectively). Furthermore, IL-2 and IL-4 levels in the serum of piglets from sows in the oral meloxicam group tended to be higher than that in the control group on day +9 (p = 0.078 and 0.056, respectively). The administration of meloxicam orally at the beginning of farrowing in multiparous sows increased immunoglobin and cytokine concentrations in colostrum, improving both humoral and cellular immune response of piglets. Pre-weaning growth of piglets born with a low BW improved in the meloxicam-treated group.
Highlights
Piglets are born agammaglobulinemic because of the epitheliochorial placentation of swine [1, 2]
IL-4 triggers differentiation of T helper lymphocytes toward the Th2 subset, which is related to humoral and anthelmintic responses [8, 10], while IFN- activates macrophages and elicits the differentiation of T helper lymphocytes toward the Th1 subset, favoring cellular responses and boosting protection against intracellular microbes [10]
The present study aims to evaluate the effect of meloxicam administered orally to healthy sows at the beginning of farrowing on piglet growth, including the effect of sex and immune transfer via colostrum of immunoglobulins (A and G) and cytokines (Interleukins IL-2 and IL-4, and Interferon Gamma IFN- ), taking into account the sow parity effect
Summary
Piglets are born agammaglobulinemic because of the epitheliochorial placentation of swine [1, 2]. Early-colostrum is mostly produced before farrowing and contains up to 75% of Immunoglobulin G (IgG) and 20% of Immunoglobulin A (IgA), which are central elements of humoral immune responses. Colostrum-associated cellular immunity has been overlooked for a long time. It contains around 106 cells/mL, up to 25% of them being lymphocytes [6, 7]. IL-4 triggers differentiation of T helper lymphocytes toward the Th2 subset, which is related to humoral and anthelmintic responses [8, 10], while IFN- activates macrophages and elicits the differentiation of T helper lymphocytes toward the Th1 subset, favoring cellular responses and boosting protection against intracellular microbes [10]
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