Effect of β-hydroxy-β-methylbutyrate acid on meat performance traits and selected indicators of humoral immunity in goats

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of β-hydroxy-β-methylbutyrate acid, on parameters of meat performance in goats as well as on selected parameters of non-specific humoral defense. An experiment was performed on 24 Alpine kids divided into two equal groups: I - control and II - experimental. Over a period of 60 days, the animals were fed an HMB-supplemented diet. The following meat performance parameters were determined: body weight, daily gains, growth rate, the dimensions of musculus longissimus dorsi (m.l.d.) sections and fat thickness over the loin “eye”. Selected indicators of non-specific humoral immunity were determined in the blood serum of kids: lysozyme activity, ceruloplasmin activity and gamma globulin content. It was found that the kids administered HMB had a significantly higher body weight on days 30 and 60 of the experiment compared to the control group. The kids in this group also had a significantly more favorable musculature development. Simultaneously, a significant impact of HMB on the examined immunological indices was found. The significance of differences in relation to the control group was confirmed statistically for lysozyme activity and ceruloplasmin activity on days 30 and 60, while the content of gammaglobulins was confirmed statistically on days 15, 30 and 60 of the study. It was also found that the addition of HMB had a stimulating impact on immunity and growth rate as well as on the development of muscles. It is thus justified to administer HMB to earlyweaned kids to enhance their rearing parameters

Antiviral Effect of Bovine Lactoferrin against Enterovirus E

Enterovirus E (EV-E), a representative of the Picornaviridae family, endemically affects cattle across the world, typically causing subclinical infections. However, under favorable conditions, severe or fatal disorders of the respiratory, digestive, and reproductive systems may develop. There is no specific treatment for enterovirus infections in humans or animals, and only symptomatic treatment is available. The aim of this study was to determine the in vitro antiviral effect of bovine lactoferrin (bLF) against enterovirus E using virucidal, cytopathic effect inhibition, and viral yield reduction assays in MDBK cells. The influence of lactoferrin on the intracellular viral RNA level was also determined. Surprisingly, lactoferrin did not have a protective effect on cells, although it inhibited the replication of the virus during the adsorption and post-adsorption stages (viral titres reduced by 1–1.1 log). Additionally, a decrease in the viral RNA level in cells (by up to 75%) was observed. More detailed studies are needed to determine the mechanism of bovine lactoferrin effect on enterovirus E. However, this highly biocompatible protein ensures some degree of protection against infection by bovine enterovirus, which is particularly important for young animals that receive this protein in their mother’s milk

Immune-enhancing activity of potential probiotic strains of Lactobacillus plantarum in the common carp (Cyprinus carpio) fingerling

Introduction: Immune-potentiating functions of Lactobacillus plantarum strains in the common carp were evaluated

CD25+CD127+Foxp3- Cells Represent a Major Subpopulation of CD8+ T Cells in the Eye Chambers of Normal Mice.

The aim of this study has been to determine whether eye chambers constitute part of the normal migratory pathway of naive CD4+ and CD8+ T cells in mouse and if natural CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ and CD8+CD25+Foxp3+ regulatory T cells are present within these eye compartments. To this aim, the cells obtained from aqueous humor (AH) of normal mice were phenotyped in terms of the expression CD4, CD8, CD25, CD127 and transcription factor Foxp3. The mean percentage of CD8+ T cells in the total AH lymphocyte population was as high as 28.69%; the mean percentage of CD8high and CD8low cells in this population was 34.09% and 65.91%, respectively. The presence of cells with the regulatory phenotype, i.e. CD25+Foxp3+ cells, constituted only 0.32% of CD8+ T cell subset. Regarding the expression of CD25, AH CD8+ T cells were an exceptional population in that nearly 85% of these cells expressed this molecule without concomitant Foxp3 expression. Despite having this phenotype, they should not be viewed as activated cells because most of them co-expressed CD127, which indicates that they are naive lymphocytes. With regard to the markers applied in the present research, CD8+CD25+CD127+Foxp3- T cells represent the most numerous subset of AH CD8+ cells. The results suggest that eye chambers in mice are an element in the normal migratory pathway of naive CD8+ T cells. The study presented herein demonstrated only trace presence of CD4+ cells in the eye chambers, as the mean percentage of these cells was just 0.56. Such selective and specific homing of CD8+ and CD4+ cells to the eye chambers is most clearly engaged in the induction and maintenance of ocular immune privilege

Enterovirus E infects bovine peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Implications for pathogenesis?

Enterovirus E (EV-E) is a common viral pathogen endemic in cattle worldwide. Little is known, however, about its potential interactions with bovine immune cells

The Effects of β-Hydroxy-β-Methylbutyrate (HMB) on Chemotaxis, Phagocytosis, and Oxidative Burst of Peripheral Blood Granulocytes and Monocytes in Goats

The objective of this study was to determine the effect of β-hydroxy-β-methylbutyrate (HMB) on the chemotactic activity, phagocytic activity, and oxidative metabolism of peripheral blood granulocytes and monocytes in goats. Goat kids aged 30 ± 3 days were divided into two groups of 12 animals each: I—control, and II—experimental. Experimental group animals were fed a diet supplemented with HMB in the amount of 50 mg/Kg BW; whereas the diets of control goats were not supplemented. At the beginning of the experiment (day 0) and on experimental days 15, 30, and 60, blood was sampled from the jugular vein to determine and compare chemotactic activity (MIGRATEST® kit), phagocytic activity (PHAGOTEST® kit), and oxidative metabolism (BURSTTEST® kit) of peripheral blood granulocytes and monocytes by flow cytometry. The analyses of the chemotactic and phagocytic activity of granulocytes and monocytes revealed statistically higher levels of phagocytic activity in the experimental group than in the control group, as expressed by the percentage of phagocytic cells and mean fluorescence intensity. HMB also enhanced the oxidative metabolism of both granulocytes and monocytes, expressed by the rate of oxidative metabolism and mean fluorescence intensity after stimulation with Escherichia coli bacteria and PMA (4-phorbol-12-β-myristate-13-acetate)