Zearalenone and the Immune Response.

Zearalenone (ZEA) is an estrogenic fusariotoxin, being classified as a phytoestrogen, or as a mycoestrogen. ZEA and its metabolites are able to bind to estrogen receptors, 17β-estradiol specific receptors, leading to reproductive disorders which include low fertility, abnormal fetal development, reduced litter size and modification at the level of reproductive hormones especially in female pigs. ZEA has also significant effects on immune response with immunostimulatory or immunosuppressive results.

Dietary Grape Seed Meal Bioactive Compounds Alleviate Epithelial Dysfunctions and Attenuates Inflammation in Colon of DSS-Treated Piglets.

Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBD) are chronic inflammations associated with progressive degradation of intestinal epithelium and impairment of the local innate immune response. Restoring of epithelial integrity and of the mucosal barrier function, together with modulation of inflammatory and innate immune markers, represent targets for alternative strategies in IBD. The aim of our study was to evaluate the effects of a diet including 8% grape seed meal (GSM), rich in bioactive compounds (polyphenols, polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), fiber) on the markers of colonic epithelial integrity, mucosal barrier function, pro-inflammatory, and innate immunity in DSS-treated piglets used as animal models of intestinal inflammation.

Synbiotic combination of prebiotic grape pomace extract and probiotic sp. reduced important intestinal inflammatory markers and in-depth signalling mediators in lipopolysaccharide-treated Caco-2 cells.

Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) are a major problem for public health, with an increased incidence and impact on life quality. The effect of pre- and probiotic combination has been less studied in IBD. Using genomic and proteomic array technologies, this study examined the efficacy of a new combination of natural alternatives: prebiotics (grape pomace extract, GP) and probiotics (lactobacilli mixture, Lb mix) on inflammation and intracellular signalling routes in a cellular model of inflammation.

Assessment of the effect of grape seed cake inclusion in the diet of healthy fattening-finishing pigs.

Modulatory capacity of bioactive compounds from different wastes has been scarcely investigated in pigs. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of dietary inclusion of grape seed cakes (GS diet) on performance and plasma biochemistry parameters as health indicators, as well as on several markers related to inflammation and antioxidant defence in the liver of fattening-finishing pigs. Twelve cross-bred pigs (TOPIG) were randomly assigned to one of two experimental diets: control and 5% grape seed cake diet during finishing period (24 days).

Interspecies Gene Name Extrapolation--A New Approach.

The use of animal models has facilitated numerous scientific developments, especially when employing "omics" technologies to study the effects of various environmental factors on humans. Our study presents a new bioinformatics pipeline suitable when the generated microarray data from animal models does not contain the necessary human gene name annotation. We conducted single color gene expression microarray on duodenum and spleen tissue obtained from pigs which have been exposed to zearalenone and Escherichia coli contamination, either alone or combined.

ω-3 PUFA rich camelina oil by-products improve the systemic metabolism and spleen cell functions in fattening pigs.

Camelina oil-cakes results after the extraction of oil from Camelina sativa plant. In this study, camelina oil-cakes were fed to fattening pigs for 33 days and its effect on performance, plasma biochemical analytes, pro-/anti-inflammatory mediators and antioxidant detoxifying defence in spleen was investigated in comparison with sunflower meal. 24 crossbred TOPIG pigs were randomly assigned to one of two experimental dietary treatments containing either 12% sunflower meal (treatment 1-T1), or 12.

Assessment of the potential of a boron-fructose additive in counteracting the toxic effect of Fusarium mycotoxins.

Trichotecenes are mycotoxins produced by Fusarium sp., which may contaminate animal feeds and human food. A feeding trial was conducted to evaluate the effect of a fusarotoxin-contaminated diet, and to explore the counteracting potential of a calcium fructoborate (CFrB) additive on performance, typical health biochemistry parameters and immune response in weaned pigs.

Comparative aspects of in vitro proliferation of human and porcine lymphocytes exposed to mycotoxins.

Mycotoxins are fungal secondary metabolites that elicit a wide spectrum of toxicological effects, including the alteration of normal immune function. In the present study we investigated the independent effect of four mycotoxins, aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), fumonisin B1 (FB1), deoxynivalenol (DON) and nivalenol (NIV), on lymphocyte proliferation using human and porcine lymphocytes. Human and porcine peripheral blood mononuclear cells and porcine splenocytes were cultured with increasing concentrations of mycotoxins for 72 hours and labelled in the last 24 hours with [methyl-3H]-thymidine.