title: Transportation stress alters the expression of immunoregulatory cytokines in the porcine thymus.
abstract: This study investigated the effects of transportation stress on blood concentrations of the main pro-inflammatory cytokines (interleukins IL-1β, IL-2 and IL-6; tumour necrosis factor-α) and anti-inflammatory cytokines (IL-4 and IL-10) and the expression of these cytokines and their receptors in the thymus. Pigs were assessed after 1, 2 and 4 h of transportation (n=5 per group), with normal housing conditions as a control (n=4). Serum concentrations of IL-2, IL-6 and IL-10 were highest at 1 h, whereas concentrations of IL-6 and IL-10 were significantly decreased at 4h. Expression of these three cytokines and their receptors was also significantly altered in the thymus during transportation stress. Serum IL-10 concentrations and thymus IL-10 mRNA expression were significantly correlated. The thymus may contribute towards the regulation of cytokines in pigs during transportation.
authors.affiliation: The Laboratory of Animal Pathology, Department of Veterinary Medicine, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China.
authors.forename: Qiongxia
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Lv
authors.forename: Shuxia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Ruqian
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Zhao
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D016753:Interleukin-10 / Q000097:blood; D053583:Interleukin-1beta / Q000097:blood; D007376:Interleukin-2 / Q000097:blood; D015847:Interleukin-4 / Q000097:blood; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000097:blood; D007378:Interleukins / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D013312:Stress, Physiological / Q000276:immunology*; D013552:Swine / Q000378:metabolism*; D013950:Thymus Gland / Q000378:metabolism*; D014186:Transportation; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D053583:Interleukin-1beta; D007376:Interleukin-2; D015850:Interleukin-6; D007378:Interleukins; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; D016753:Interleukin-10; D015847:Interleukin-4