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Title: COMPARISON OF THE INNATE IMMUNE RESPONSE IN CLONED AND NON-CLONED PIGS FOLLOWING LIPOPOLYSACCHARIDE CHALLENGE

Author
item KORTE, SCOTT - UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI
item Carroll, Jeffery - Jeff Carroll
item CARTER, D. BART - UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI
item PRATHER, RANDALL - UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/18/2004
Publication Date: 10/18/2004
Citation: Korte, S.W., Carroll, J.A., Carter, D., Prather, R.S. 2004. Comparison of the innate immune response in cloned and non-cloned pigs following lipopolysaccharide challenge [abstract]. American Association for Laboratory Animal Science.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: The objective of this study was to compare the innate immune response of cloned pigs to normal pigs following a lipopolysaccharide (LPS) challenge using cortisol, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), and interleukin 6 (IL-6) as indicators of the induction of an innate immune response. Nine 28-day-old clones and eleven 28-day-old normal piglets (controls) from the same genetic background were used. All animals were weaned at 21 days and individually housed in the same experimental environment until the beginning of the study. The day prior to the LPS challenge, the animals were anesthetized by inhalation anesthesia and a jugular catheter was non-surgically placed. On day 28, each animal was challenged with 25 ug/kg body weight LPS intravenously via the jugular catheter. Blood samples were collected every 30 minutes from 2 hours before the LPS challenge, through 4 hours following the challenge. Serum samples from each time point were evaluated for cortisol, TNF-alpha, and IL-6 concentrations. Results from 2 hours prior to LPS challenge demonstrated that the cloned animals had lower basal serum cortisol (P<0.002) and TNF-alpha (P<0.0001) concentrations compared to control pigs. The basal concentration of IL-6 was below the detection limit of the kit in both the cloned pigs and the control pigs. A time-by-group interaction (P<0.0001) was noted following the LPS challenge for serum cortisol, TNF- alpha, and IL-6, with serum concentrations lower in the cloned animals when compared to their non-cloned counterparts. The results of this study suggest that cloned piglets have a diminished innate immune response, which may account for the apparent increased susceptibility of cloned pigs to perinatal bacterial infection.