Journal of Animal Science, Vol 72, Issue 3 658-664, Copyright © 1994 by American Society of Animal Science

JOURNAL ARTICLE

The effect of methionine and aflatoxin on immune function in weanling pigs

E. van Heugten, J. W. Spears, M. T. Coffey, E. B. Kegley and M. A. Qureshi
Department of Animal Science, North Carolina State University, Raleigh 27695-7621.

To investigate the effect of aflatoxin (AF) and dietary methionine (MET) on immune responses of swine, a total of 288 pigs weaned at 21 d of age were allotted to 12 dietary treatments arranged in a 3 x 4 factorial arrangement in a randomized complete block design. Diets consisted of a corn-soybean meal diet (.95% lysine, .30% MET, and .32% cystine) containing either 0, 140, or 280 ppb of AF and supplemented with either 0, .15, .30, or .45% DL-MET. Immune response measurements were made after the pigs had received their diet for 3 wk. Antibody response to sheep red blood cells (SRBC) was measured 0, 7, and 14 d after i.m. injection of 2.5 mL of a 20% SRBC suspension. Total serum immunoglobulin (Ig) M and IgG were measured using an ELISA. In vivo cellular immunity was measured using a phytohemagglutinin (PHA) skin test. Skin thickness was measured 0, 6, 12, 24, and 36 h after s.c. injection of .1 mL of PHA (1.50 mg/mL). In vitro cellular immunity was measured using a lymphocyte blastogenesis assay. Antibody response to SRBC and serum IgM and IgG concentrations were not affected by dietary treatments. Skin thickness response at 6 h after injection was maximal when .45% MET was added to diets containing 280 ppb of AF, whereas the response was maximal at .30% supplemental MET for the 0 and 140 ppb of AF diets (AF x MET interaction, P < .10). Skin thickness was reduced linearly (P < .10) with increasing dietary AF at 12 and 24 h after PHA injection.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

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