Effects of an illicit cocktail on serum immunoglobulins, lymphocyte proliferation and cytokine gene expression in the veal calf.

At the European Union level, the use of growth promoters (GPs) in cattle and other food-producing species is forbidden; nonetheless, the illicit use of anabolic hormones, beta-agonists and corticosteroids, often administered in cocktails at lower concentrations to overcome control procedures, is still of public concern. The immune system (IS) is a multicomponent system that provide a coordinated response toward infectious diseases, not self-neoplasms and xenobiotics; in this respect, some GPs have been proved able to cause both morphological alterations in lymphoid organs and a modulating effect upon some immunological parameters. Therefore, in the present study the effects of an illicit cocktail upon the cattle IS functions were investigated by using some common endpoints adopted for the IS testing in humans.

Cytokine mRNA expression profiles in lymphoid tissues of pigs naturally affected by postweaning multisystemic wasting syndrome.

Fifteen 8-week-old conventional pigs were selected from a farm where pigs were suffering from postweaning multisystemic wasting syndrome (PMWS). Ten of the animals were diseased pigs showing typical signs of PMWS (wasting and respiratory disorders) and positive for infection with porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2), and the other five animals selected as controls were pen-mate, apparently healthy pigs. Blood samples and lymphoid tissues were taken from each animal for haematological, serological and histopathological studies.