J. Anim Sci., doi: 10.2527/jas.2007-0812
©Copyright, 2008, The American Society of Animal Science
Prenatal stress on pig development and response to weaning
D. C. Lay Jr.1*,
H. G. Kattesh 2,
J. E. Cunnick 3,
M. J. Daniels 4,
K. A. McMunn 1,
M. J. Toscano 1,
M. P. Roberts 2
1 ARS-USDA, Livestock Behavior Research Unit, West Lafayette IN, 47980
2 University of Tennessee, Dept. of Animal Science, Knoxville TN, 37996
3 Iowa State University, Dept. of Animal Science, Ames IA, 50014
4 University of Florida, Depts. of Epidemiology & Biostatistics and Statistics, Gainesville FL, 32611
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: Don.Lay{at}ars.usda.gov.
 |
Abstract |
|---|
Exposing a pregnant sow to stress has been shown to affect the resulting offspring. Our objective was to determine if rough handling of pregnant sows altered the physiology of her offspring and if these alterations were different from an experimentally induced model of prenatal stress. Sow treatments consisted of i.v. injections of adrenocorticotrophin (ACTH, 1 IU/kg BW), exposure to rough handling for a 10-min duration (Rough), or no treatment (Control) once a week during d 42 to 77 of gestation. To determine the plasma cortisol response to treatments, blood (5 mL) were collected from 30 sows after treatment administration. To conduct the prenatal stress study, a separate group of 56 sows were used in 1 of 4 replicates. At birth, production data were collected for each litter, including birth weight, number born, anogenital distance, and pig viability. At weaning, pigs were blocked by BW and sex, and placed in a nursery pen of 6 pigs with 2 pigs from each treatment group. To assess the effect of treatments on cortisol, corticosteroid-binding globulin (CBG), and hematological cell profiles, blood was collected every other day for 10 d after weaning. Application of treatments caused plasma cortisol to be greatest in ACTH sows compared with Control sows (P < 0.001), with Rough sows having intermediate values (P = 0.07). Treatments did not affect the number of pigs born, number of still born, or pig viability (P > 0.40). The ratio of cortisol to CBG did not differ between treatments (P = 0.09). Blood variables did not differ between treatments (P > 0.19). Pigs born to ACTH sows had a smaller anogenital distance compared with controls (P < 0.03), with pigs from Rough sows being intermediate. Our data indicate that swine exposed to pre-natal stress (ACTH injection) can have alterations in sexual morphology, without effects on growth or the immune cell populations measured in this study.
Key Words:
cortisol, corticosteroid-binding globulin , immune, prenatal, stress, swine
