Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate the immune effects of compound astragalus polysaccharide and sulfated epimedium polysaccharide (APS-sEPS) on the peripheral blood lymphocyte and intestinal mucosa in newborn piglets. A total of 40 newborn piglets were randomly divided into four groups during a 25-day experiment, including APS-sEPS, APS, sEPS and control group. The results showed that supplementation with APS-sEPS to newborn piglets remarkably increased the physiological parameters, especially the WBC. In peripheral blood, piglets that received APS-sEPS showed the highest proliferation of T lymphocytes, the percentage of CD3 + CD4+ and CD3 + CD8+ cells were the highest on days 15 and 25 (p < 0.05). The serum concentrations of IFN-γ on days 7 and 15, and IL-4, IL-10, sIgA on days 7, 15 and 25 in APS-sEPS group were significantly higher than those in the control group (p < 0.05). Furthermore, the villus length and the ratio of villus length to crypt depth in APS-sEPS group were both significantly increased compared to that of control group (p < 0.05). In the duodenum, jejunum and illume, the concentrations of IFN-γ, IL-10, total IgG and sIgA in APS-sEPS group were all significantly higher than that in control group (p < 0.05). In intestinal mucosa, APS-sEPS significantly increased the expression of NF-κB and IRF-3 mRNA in each section of small intestine of piglets. Nevertheless, in the illume segment, the effect of APS-sEPS was more significant than that of APS and sEPS (p < 0.05). The expression of TLR4 was more significant than that of control group in duodenum only. The results from the present research provide evidence that the suckling piglets administered with APS-sEPS supplement exhibited enhanced immune function of peripheral blood lymphocyte and expression of specific antibodies, and ameliorated intestinal morphological development and increased activities of humoral immune response in the small intestine, which would be related to the activation of the TLR4-NF-κB signaling pathway and IRF3.

摘要

本研究旨在探讨复方黄芪多糖和硫酸化淫羊藿多糖（APS-sEPS）对新生仔猪外周血淋巴细胞和肠黏膜的免疫作用。在为期25天的实验中，将40头新生仔猪随机分为4组，包括APS-sEPS组、APS组、sEPS组和对照组。结果表明，给新生仔猪补充APS-sEPS可显着提高其生理参数，尤其是白细胞。在外周血中，接受APS-sEPS的仔猪T淋巴细胞增殖最高，CD3+CD4+和CD3+CD8+细胞的百分比在第15天和第25天最高（p < 0.05）。APS-sEPS 组第 7、15 天血清 IFN-γ 浓度以及第 7、15、25 天血清 IL-4、IL-10、sIgA 浓度显着高于对照组（ p < 0.05 ）  。此外，APS-sEPS组的绒毛长度以及绒毛长度与隐窝深度的比值均较对照组显着增加（p  < 0.05）。APS-sEPS 组十二指肠、空肠和肠管中 IFN-γ、IL-10、总 IgG 和 sIgA 浓度均显着高于对照组（ p < 0.05 ）  。在肠粘膜中，APS-sEPS 显着增加NF-κB和IRF-3的表达仔猪小肠各段的 mRNA。然而，在照明领域，APS-sEPS 的效果比 APS 和 sEPS 的效果更显着 ( p  < 0.05)。仅在十二指肠中TLR4的表达较对照组更为显着。本研究的结果表明，给予乳猪APS-sEPS补充剂后，其外周血淋巴细胞的免疫功能和特异性抗体的表达得到增强，肠道形态发育得到改善，小肠体液免疫反应活性增强，从而增强了仔猪的免疫功能。可能与TLR4-NF-κB信号通路和IRF3的激活有关。