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ARS Home » Plains Area » Lubbock, Texas » Cropping Systems Research Laboratory » Livestock Issues Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #170690
Title: THE ACUTE-PHASE RESPONSE OF CLONED PIGS FOLLOWING AN IMMUNE CHALLENGE

Author
item Carroll, Jeffery - Jeff Carroll
item CARTER, D - UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI
item KORTE, SCOTT - UNIVERISTY OF MISSOURI
item Dowd, Scot
item PRATHER, RANDALL - UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI

Submitted to: American Society of Animal Science Southern Section Meeting
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/20/2004
Publication Date: 11/25/2004
Citation: Carroll, J.A., Carter, D.B., Korte, S., Dowd, S.E., Prather, R. 2004. The acute-phase response of cloned pigs following an immune challenge [abstract]. American Society of Animal Science Southern Section Meeting.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Perinatal and early postnatal death continues to be a concern in cloned animals. Reports indicate that neonatal cloned calves, lambs, goats, and piglets die of bacterial infections and sudden death of unknown causes. Therefore, our objective was to evaluate the acute-phase response (APR) in cloned pigs derived from 2 different cell lines [C1 (n=7) and C2 (n=2)] as compared to genetically similar non-cloned pigs (CONT; n = 11) following a lipopolysaccharide (LPS; 25 ug/kg BW) challenge. Pigs were weaned at 21 d of age and maintained in individual pens in the same room until sample collection 1 wk later. Blood samples were collected every 30 min for 2 h prior to and 4 h after the LPS challenge. Serum samples were analyzed for cortisol, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF) and interleukin 6 (IL-6). Average gestational length for cloned pigs, 118.8 + 0.97 d, was longer (P < 0.005) than that of CONT pigs, 114 + 0.41 d. For serum cortisol there was a time by group interaction (P < 0.0001) such that the cortisol response was greater in CONT pigs as compared to C1 pigs (P < 0.0001), but not different from C2 pigs (P > 0.74). A time by group interaction (P < 0.0001) was observed for serum TNF such that the TNF response was greater in CONT pigs as compared to C1 pigs (P = 0.0002) and tended to be greater (P < 0.06) than C2 pigs. A time by group interaction (P < 0.0001) was also observed for serum IL-6 such that the serum IL-6 response was greater (P < 0.003) in CONT pigs as compared to C1 pigs and there was a trend (P = 0.10) for serum IL-6 to be greater in CONT pigs compared to the C2 pigs. These are the first results to demonstrate that cortisol and proinflammatory cytokine profiles associated with the APR of cloned pigs are altered compared to genetically similar non-cloned pigs. Our results also indicate that the cell line from which clones are derived may dictate the APR. The hormone and cytokine profiles reported herein are a significant contribution towards our understanding, and perhaps our ability to prevent or reduce the incidence of premature deaths in cloned animals and warrants further investigation of the immune system of cloned animals.