• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
• /
• v.29 no.3
• /
• pp.482-488
• /
• 2019

Porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) is the causative agent of postweaning multisystemic wasting syndrome (PMWS) in pigs. Replicase (Rep) proteins are considered essential for viral replication. Capsid (Cap) protein is the primary immunogenic protein that induces protective immunity. Little is known about comparison on the immunogenicity of PCV2 Rep and Cap fusion protein and Cap protein. In the present study, recombinant baculoviruses expressing the Rep-Cap fusion protein (Bac-Rep-Cap) and the Cap protein (Bac-Cap) of PCV2 were constructed and confirmed with western blot and indirect fluorescence assay. Immunogenicities of the two recombinant proteins were tested in mice. The titers of antibodies were determined with a PCV2-specific enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and a serum neutralization assay. The $IFN-{\gamma}$ response of immunized mice was measured by ELISA. The mice immunized with the Bac-Rep-Cap and Bac-Cap successfully produced Cap-specific immunoreaction. The mice immunized with the Bac-Cap developed higher PCV2-specific neutralizing antibody titers than mice injected with the Bac-Rep-Cap. $IFN-{\gamma}$ in the Bac-Rep-Cap group was increased compared to those in the Bac-Cap group. Vaccination of mice with the Bac-Rep-Cap showed significantly decreased protective efficacy compared to the Bac-Cap. Our findings will indubitably not only lead to a better understanding of the immunogenicity of PCV2, but also improved vaccines.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
• /
• v.45 no.6
• /
• pp.1079-1088
• /
• 2003

This study was conducted to test the efficacy of the automatic liquid feeder(designated as NLRI) developed by National Livestock Research Institute, Korea for 7-day old early-weaning piglets. The other automatic liquid feeder imported from USA(designated as IALF) was used for a comparative purpose. A total of sixty piglets of 7 days of age were allotted to three treatments. The control group of 20 piglets was raised by their own sows until 21 days of age, while others were shifted to automatic liquid feeders of either NLRI or IALF on 7 days of age and reared during 14 days post-weaning. After then, all the piglets were fed nutritionally identical mash diets until 70 days of age. Compared with control group, body weight of piglets reared on automatic liquid feeders were lighter(P〈0.05) at 21 days of age [5.55kg (control) vs 4.97 (NLRI) and 4.98kg (IALF)], while heavier(P〈0.05) at 70 days of age(24.82kg vs 30.17 and 29.42kg). The results indicated that pigs reared on liquid feeding showed higher(P〈0.05) average daily gain than control pigs during the whole experimental period [346.7g (control) vs 425.8 (NLRI) and 416.1g (IALF)], while no difference was found in feed/gain (1.67 vs 1.78 and 1.84). There was no difference in growth performance and incidence of diarrhea between two automatic liquid feeders, NLRI and IALF. Compared with control group, intestinal villi tended to be shorter in liquid feeding group during the first week, but were recovered within two weeks. The results suggest that the automatic liquid feeder newly developed by National Livestock Research Institute, Korea can be successfully used for rearing young piglets weaned at very early age.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
• /
• v.48 no.6
• /
• pp.933-942
• /
• 2006

This experiment was carried out to investigate effects of honeybee venom treatment on the humoral immune response in pigs. Corresponding author : S. K. Cho, Dept. of Animal Sci. Chung-Buk National University, Kaesin-dong, Cheongju, 361-763, Korea. phone : 043-261-2551. E-mail : deercho@chungbuk.ac.kr To investigate effects of natural honeybee venom on the concentration of immunoglobulin G, A, and M, 20 piglets(LY×D) from 3 sows were allocated into two groups bee venom-treated group(10 piglets) and non-treated control(10 piglets). Natural honeybee venom was treated at 0, 3, 6 days after birth and the acupoints were Hai-men(ST-25), Du-kou(CV-8) and Jiao-chao(GV-1) points at 0, 3 days after birth and the regions of castration and tail amputation point at 6 days. Control group was injected 1㎖ of saline to the same site. Concentrations of IgG, A, and M were measured with immunoturbidimetric method at 0, 3, 7, 14, and 21 days after treatment. To investigate the effect of bee venom on the production of antibodies against hog cholera and atrophic rhinitis vaccines that were used as indicator antigens, 40 piglets(LYxD) from 5 sows were grouped as bee venom-treated group (20 piglets) and control group(20 piglets). Natural honeybee venom was treated at 0, 3days(castration, tail amputation) and 21days after birth. The acupoints were Hai-men(ST-25), Du-kou(CV-8) and Jiao-chao (GV-1) points at 0 day, the regions of castration and tail ampution at 3 days and Jiao-chao(GV-1) and Bai-hui(GV-20) points at 21days after birth(weaning). Control group was injected 1ml of saline to the same site. Atrophic rhinitis vaccine was injected twice at 24 and 44 days after birth and hog cholera vaccine was also injected twice at 44 and 64 days after birth. Antibody titers against Bordetella bronchiseptica and hog cholera virus were measured by using tube agglutination and ELISA tests at 24, 34, 44, 54 and 74 days after birth. Concentrations of IgG of treated group were 339.52, 366.48, 296.52, 242.06 and 219.06mg/dl at 0, 3, 7, 14 and 21 days after birth, respectively. In contrast, concentrations of IgG in control group were respectively 347.10, 334.14, 243.28, 205.18 and 191.58mg/dl during same periods with treated group. Concentrations of IgG at 0 day was not significantly different between the treated group and control group but treated group were significantly increased by 10.28% at 3 days after birth (P<0.02), 21.88% at 7 days after birth(P<0.01), 18.0% at 14 days after birth(P<0.07) and 14.3% at 21 days after birth(P<0.01). Concentrations of IgA and Ig M were not significantly different. Antibody titers against hog cholera virus were significantly increased by 57.0% at 24 days after birth(P<0.03), 74.6% at 34 days after birth (P<0.006), 48.6% at 44 days after birth(P<0.017), 45.0% at 54 days after birth(P<0.16) and 44.4% at 74 days after birth (P<0.006) in bee venom treated group in comparison with control group. Antibody titers against the Bordetella bronchiseptica was significantly increased in Beevenom treated group as 9.1% (P<0.32) at 24days, 39.7% (P<0.002) at 34days, 31.9% (P<0.02) at 44days, 33.4% (P<0.01) at 54days and 57.3% (P<0.007) at 74 days after birth when compared with those of control group pigs. Collecting together, the results in this study showed that immune responses were increased by treatment of natural honeybee venom to pigs. These results suggested that the treatment of bee venom could be used effectively for the increase of productivity in livestock industry.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
• /
• v.45 no.1
• /
• pp.33-40
• /
• 2003

The present study was undertaken to find relationships of plasma insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-I and IGF-II concentrations to litter size and lactation performance. Sixty pure-bred Landrace and Yorkshire pigs having similar farrowing weeks which had been selected from a large number of pregnant gilts and sows were divided into low- (<${\mu}$－0.5SD) and high-litter size (>${\mu}$+0.5 SD) lines under a 2 (breed)${\times}$2 (line) factorial arrange of treatments. After adjusting the litter size to nine piglets per sow at farrowing, total litter weight was measured at three weeks postpartum at weaning as an index of milk yield. Blood samples were obtained from the jugular vein at day (d)-90 pregnancy (Px) and at d-15 postpartum. The litter size or the number of piglets born during the present experiment and the average litter size during the entire parities up to the present one were greater in the high-line than in the low-line by 3.7 and 2.4 piglets, respectively (P<0.01); effect of the breed on litter size was not significant. Plasma IGF-II concentration at d-90 Px was greater in the high-line than in the low-line. Litter size and d-90 Px IGF-I concentration were negatively correlated in Landrace (r=－0.46; P<0.05) and tended to be negatively correlated in Yorkshire (r=－0.31; P=0.09), which resulted in a significant negative correlation between these two variables in total animals (r=－0.35; P<0.01). Litter weight at weaning was not different between the two breeds or lines. Relationships between the litter weight and IGF concentration were not consistent across the breed ${\times}$ physiological stage combinations. Results suggest that d-90 Px IGF concentrations may be indicative of the litter size at impending farrowing.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.21 no.5
• /
• pp.723-731
• /
• 2008

Immunomodulatory feed additives might offer alternatives to antimicrobial growth promoters in pig production. This experiment was designed to determine the effects of dietary galacto-mannan-oligosaccharide (GMOS) and chitosan oligosaccharide (COS) supplementation on the immune response in early-weaned piglets. Forty 15-day-old piglets (Duroc$\times$Landrace$\times$Yorkshire) with an average live body weight of $5.6{\pm}0.51kg$ were weaned and randomly assigned to 4 treatment groups that were fed maize-soybean meal diets containing either basal, 110 mg/kg of lincomycin, 250 mg/kg of COS or 0.2% GMOS, respectively, over a 2-week period. Another six piglets of the same age were sacrificed on the same day at the beginning of the study for sampling, in order to obtain baseline values. Interleukin (IL)-1${\beta}$gene expression in peripheral blood monocytes, jejunal mucosa and lymph nodes, as well as serum levels of IL-1${\beta}$ IL-2 and IL-6, IgA, IgG, and IgM, were evaluated for 5 pigs from each group at 15 and 28 days of age. The results indicate that weaning stress resulted in decreases in serum antibody and cytokine levels. Dietary supplementation with GMOS or COS enhanced (p<0.05) IL-1${\beta}$gene expression in jejunal mucosa and lymph nodes, as well as serum levels of IL-1${\beta}$ IL-2, IL-6, IgA, IgG and IgM compared to supplementation with lincomycin. These findings suggest that GMOS or COS may enhance the cell-mediated immune response in early-weaned piglets by modulating the production of cytokines and antibodies, which shows that GMOS or COS have different effects than the antibiotic on animal growth and health.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.21 no.8
• /
• pp.1134-1142
• /
• 2008

Cationic amino acid transporter $b^{0,+}AT$ (HGMW-approved gene symbol SLC7A9, solute carrier family 7, member 9) plays a crucial role in amino acid nutrition. In the present study, we describe the cloning and sequencing of porcine $b^{0,+}AT$. Based on the sequence of porcine $b^{0,+}AT$ deposited in the NCBI (National Center for Biotechnological Information), we identified a putative porcine homologue. Using rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE), the full-length cDNA encoding porcine $b^{0,+}AT$ was isolated. The porcine $b^{0,+}AT$ cDNA was 1,680 bp long, encoding a 487 amino acid trans-membrane protein. The predicted amino acid sequence was found to have 88.9% and 87.1% identity with human and mouse $b^{0,+}AT$, respectively. Real-time RT-PCR indicated porcine $b^{0,+}AT$ transcripts expressed in heart, kidney, muscle and small intestine. The small intestine had the highest $b^{0,+}AT$ mRNA abundance while the muscle had the lowest (p<0.05). Along the longitudinal axis, the ileum had the highest $b^{0,+}AT$ mRNA abundance while the colon had the lowest (p<0.05). The $b^{0,+}AT$ mRNA level was highest on day 7 and 90 in the duodenum (p<0.05). It increased from day 1 to day 26 in the jejunum (p>0.05) and had the highest abundance on day 60 (p<0.05). There was, however, no difference between day 1, 7, 26, 30, 90 and 150 (p>0.05). The strongest $b^{0,+}AT$ expression appeared on day 7 in the ileum before weaning, and then decreased till day 30 but rose gradually again from day 60 to 150 (p<0.05).

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.28 no.12
• /
• pp.1742-1750
• /
• 2015

As a novel approach for disease control and prevention, nutritional modulation of the intestinal health has been proved. However, It is still unknown whether branched-chain amino acid (BCAA) is needed to maintain intestinal immune-related function. The objective of this study was to determine whether BCAA supplementation in protein restricted diet affects growth performance, intestinal barrier function and modulates post-weaning gut disorders. One hundred and eight weaned piglets ($7.96{\pm}0.26kg$) were randomly fed one of the three diets including a control diet (21% crude protein [CP], CON), a protein restricted diet (17% CP, PR) and a BCAA diet (BCAA supplementation in the PR diet) for 14 d. The growth performance, plasma amino acid concentrations, small intestinal morphology and intestinal immunoglobulins were tested. First, average daily gain (ADG) (p<0.05) and average daily feed intake (ADFI) (p<0.05) of weaned pigs in PR group were lower, while gain:feed ratio was lower than the CON group (p<0.05). Compared with PR group, BCAA group improved ADG (p<0.05), ADFI (p<0.05) and feed:gain ratio (p<0.05) of piglets. The growth performance data between CON and BCAA groups was not different (p>0.05). The PR and BCAA treatments had a higher (p<0.05) plasma concentration of methionine and threonine than the CON treatment. The level of some essential and functional amino acids (such as arginine, phenylalanine, histidine, glutamine etc.) in plasma of the PR group was lower (p<0.05) than that of the CON group. Compared with CON group, BCAA supplementation significantly increased BCAA concentrations (p<0.01) and decreased urea concentration (p<0.01) in pig plasma indicating that the efficiency of dietary nitrogen utilization was increased. Compared with CON group, the small intestine of piglets fed PR diet showed villous atrophy, increasing of intra-epithelial lymphocytes (IELs) number (p<0.05) and declining of the immunoglobulin concentration, including jejunal immunoglobulin A (IgA) (p = 0.04), secreted IgA (sIgA) (p = 0.03) and immunoglobulin M (p = 0.08), and ileal IgA (p = 0.01) and immunoglobulin G (p = 0.08). The BCAA supplementation increased villous height in the duodenum (p<0.01), reversed the trend of an increasing IELs number. Notably, BCAA supplementation increased levels of jejunal and ileal immunoglobulin mentioned above. In conclusion, BCAA supplementation to protein restricted diet improved intestinal immune defense function by protecting villous morphology and by increasing levels of intestinal immunoglobulins in weaned piglets. Our finding has the important implication that BCAA may be used to reduce the negative effects of a protein restricted diet on growth performance and intestinal immunity in weaned piglets.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.12 no.7
• /
• pp.1104-1110
• /
• 1999

We condicted two experiments to evaluate the interaction among fumaric acid (FA), protected acids (PA), or no additional acid (NO) and two different levels of acid buffering capacity (BC) in diets for 14-d-old weaned pigs. BC was varied substituting mono-calcium phosphate and calcium sulfate for dicalcium phosphate and calcium carbonate. In the high BC diet plus PA, FA was also added. In Exp. 1, 48 gilts were raised for 31 days on the six diets, evaluating growth performance and fecal digestibility. In Exp. 2, 42 gilts were raised. With each diet three subjects were sacrificed after 19 days and four after 38 days. In addition, six subjects were sacrificed at weaning. Growth and carcass performance, ileal digestibility, bacterial populations and pH in the gut were assessed. The piglet performance and stomach, ileal and cecal pH, and empty body composition were not affected by the diets. Empty body composition other than ash content was affected by piglet age (p<0.01). The BC did not influence digestibility. The dietary inclusion of PA improved fecal digestibility of protein (p<0.05) compared to the addition of FA and NO. Ileal digestibility slightly increased with both acid additions (p<0.10), the groups receiving PA showing the higher values. Piglets fed diets with low BC had lower Lactobacillus and E. coli counts in the ileum (p=0.07) and higher Lactobacillus in the colon (p=0.08). Acidified diets tended to reduce E. coli counts in the ileum (p=0.10) and increased Lactobacillus in the colon (p=0.09). The addition in the diet of PA increased Lactobacillus in the ileum compared to the sole addition of free fumaric acid (p=0.07). The addition of protected acids, combined with free fumaric acid in the case of high BC diets, increased protein digestibility and Lactobacillus counts and reduced E.coli counts. Only some changes in the concentration of bacterial population can be expected with a diet of low BC.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.13 no.7
• /
• pp.974-979
• /
• 2000

A total of 80 weaned piglets (Landrace $\times$ Yorkshire $\times$ Large White) were used in a 28-day growth assay to detennine the optimal inclusion level of sodium sulfite ($Na_{2}SO_{3}$) as an extrusion enhancer of soybean meal for nursery piglets. piglets (21 d of age, 6.04 kg of BW) were grouped into 4 treatments in a completely randomized block design. Treatments were: 1) Extruded SBM (Control), 2) Extruded SBM with 0.5% $Na_{2}SO_{3}$ (0.5 ESBM), 3) Extruded SBM with 1.0% $Na_{2}SO_{3}$ (1.0 ESBM) and 4) Extruded SBM with 1.5% $Na_{2}SO_{3}$ (1.5 ESBM). Each treatment has 4 replicates of 5 heads per pen. In phase I (d 0 to 14), diets supplied 3,400 kcal ME/kg, 23% crude protein, 1.65% lysine, 0.50% methionine, 0.9% Ca and 0.8% P. Phase II (d 14 to 28) diets contained 3,300 kcal ME/kg, 21% crude protein, 1.45% lysine, 0.45% methionine, 0.9% Ca and 0.8% P. For d 0 to 14, piglets fed 1.5 ESBM had greater ADG, ADFI and FCR compared to piglets fed control and 0.5 ESBM diet. ADG was significantly higher in piglets fed 1.5 ESBM diet than other groups (p<0.05) except 1.0 ESBM. In phase II (d 14 to 28), there was no significant differences in production traits among treatments. For overall period (d 0 to 28), piglets fed diets with high sodium sulfite grew faster than piglets fed control and 0.5 ESBM diets. The highest ADG and the best FeR were obtained in piglets fed diets with 1.5 ESBM during the entire period. Piglets fed 1.5 ESBM diet showed significantly higher crude protein digestibility than 0.5 ESBM (p<0.05) at d 14 post-weanling, but not at d 28 post-weanling. There were no significant differences in digestibilities of total amino acids. In conclusion, the addition level of 1~1.5% sodium sulfite for SBM extrusion could be favorable for rate and efficiency of growth in weaning pigs.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.21 no.9
• /
• pp.1330-1338
• /
• 2008

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of Acanthopanax senticosus extract (ASE) as a dietary additive on gut microflora in weaned piglets. A total of sixty pigs were weaned at 21 d of age (BW = $5.64{\pm}0.23kg$) and allocated on the basis of BW and litter to three dietary treatments in a randomized complete block design. The dietary treatments were: control group (basal diet), antibiotics group (basal diet+0.02% colistin), and ASE group (basal diet+0.1% ASE). On d 7, 14 and 28 after consuming the experimental diets, five piglets per group were sacrificed and then the contents from the jejunum, ileum and cecum were collected to determine changes in the microbial community by using a polymerase chain reaction-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE) technique and estimating the contents of Lactobacillus and E. coli by in vitro culturing methods. The results showed that the ASE promoted the microflora diversity in the cecum. Enumeration of bacteria in the gut contents showed that the number of Lactobacillus increased (p<0.05), while that of E. coli decreased (p<0.05) when compared with the other 2 groups as the days of age progressed post-weaning. These findings suggested that the ASE, as a substitute for dietary antimicrobial products, could improve the development of the normal gut microflora and suppress bacterial pathogens, and effectively promote a healthy intestinal environment.