Influence of castration and immunization against GnRH on inflammatory response in pigs: preliminary results.
2012
Merlot, Elodie | Prunier, Armelle | Lecointe, Antoine | Leclercq, Caroline
Surgical castration of male pigs at neonatal age is criticized for welfare reasons. Alternative solutions such as rearing entire males or immunocastrated animals exist, but it is necessary to evaluate their consequences on health. Indeed, given that sex hormones modulate immune function, castration and immunocastration might affect the immune development of pigs. The present study aimed at comparing for their inflammatory response entire pigs, neonatally surgically castrated pigs, pigs immunized against GnRH at 80 and 111 days (=immunocastration), and neonatally surgically castrated pigs immunized against GnRH. The immune (cytokine and blood formula), endocrine (cortisol) and metabolic (plasma glucose, lactate, free fatty acid and urea) responses to an LPS injection (O55:B5, 15µg/kg) at 147 days were investigated in blood samples collected through a jugular catheter from -30 to +1440 min post injection. Data from the two first replicates (5-6 animals per group) among three are presented. Neonatal surgical castration did not affect the IL-1b, IL-6 and TNF-α responses but accentuated the increase in cortisol (from 60 to 300 min) and, seemed to reduce the hypoglycaemia (240 - 300 min) after LPS. Immunization against GnRH seemed to lower the increase in lactate (90 min) and in free fatty acids (240 - 1440 min) after LPS. This attenuation might result directly from the lack of GnRH or from alterations due to the previous immune activation by vaccination.
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