Effects of environmental enrichment and regrouping on natural autoantibodies-binding danger and neural antigens in healthy pigs with different individual characteristics

Abstract

Pigs living in commercial husbandry systems may experience both acute stress due to standard management procedures and chronic stress through limitations in their barren housing environment. This might influence their immune status, including antibody responses to neural and danger autoantigens. Levels of natural autoantibody (NAAb)-binding phosphorylcholine-conjugated bovine serum albumin (PC-BSA) and myelin basic protein (MBP) were measured over time in pigs that were kept in environmental enriched v. barren housing, and that underwent a regrouping test. In total, 480 pigs were housed in 80 pens in either barren or straw-enriched pens from 4 through 23 weeks of age. Blood samples were taken from pigs before (week 8), and 3 days after a 24 h regrouping test (week 9), and at 22 weeks of age. Phosphorylcholine-conjugated bovine serum albumin (PC-BSA) and MBP antibody titres in serum were measured using ELISA. Enriched-housed pigs had higher levels of IgM-binding MBP, and tended to have higher levels of IgG-binding MBP and IgA-binding PC-BSA than barren-housed pigs. Each NAAb measured in this study was affected by gender and litter. These results suggest that enriched housing conditions, as well as acute regrouping stress, have an influence on levels of serum NAAb-binding danger and neural antigens in pigs.

Effect of enriched housing on levels of natural (auto-)antibodies in pigs co-infected with porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) and Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae

“…It has been proposed that IgM antibodies binding auto-antigens such as PC are usually present, and enough IgM is available to prevent inflammation, for instance by activating the classical complement pathway [ 19 ], and consequently IgG is not formed. In the current study, IgG binding to PC-BSA decreased over time, which is in line with the previous study [ 13 ]. Whether this also reflected decreasing maternal IgG antibodies remains unknown.…”

“…Housing or its interaction with sampling day affected all NA(A)b levels except KLH-IgM. In line with this, effects of housing on NA(A)b binding KLH (IgG, [ 16 ]), MBP and PC-BSA (IgM, [ 13 ]) have previously been found. Notably, before infection, barren housed pigs had higher levels of NA(A)b than enriched housed pigs, except for PC-BSA-IgG.…”

“…We recently demonstrated that enriched housed pigs had higher levels of natural autoantibodies binding danger (phosphorycholine, PC) and neural (myelin basic protein, MBP) auto-antigens than barren housed pigs [ 13 ]. PC is a component of cell membranes and levels of anti-PC antibodies may reflect cell damage and inflammation related to stress [ 14 ].…”

“…Studies reported that levels of NA(A)b may rise with age but are independent of the (antigenic) environment. However, in a former study, effects of housing conditions on levels of NA(A)b were found [ 13 ]. In the current study we studied the effect of housing and a co-infection with PRRSV and A. pleuropneumoniae on levels of natural IgM and IgG binding KLH, MBP and PC-BSA.…”

Avaliação do estresse e do desempenho de suínos na fase de creche, empregando-se técnicas de enriquecimento ambiental

“…No Brasil, a utilização de enriquecimento ambiental por meio de garrafas PET (500mL) para leitões, na fase de creche (Campos et al, 2010), e correntes (Vasconcelos et al, 2015) e brinquedos (Oliveira et al, 2016), na fase de crescimento, mostra-se positiva sobre os comportamentos dos animais. Vale ressaltar que o enriquecimento ambiental atua sobre o sistema imunológico (Luo et al, 2017), o bem-estar fisiológico (Luz et al, 2017) e os índices zootécnicos (Oliveira et al, 2016). Porém, os efeitos desse enriquecimento ainda são pouco estudados sobre a fisiologia animal e, particularmente, sobre os suínos.…”