Oral Administration of EC-12 Increases the Baseline Gene Expression of Antiviral Cytokine Genes, IFN-γ and TNF-α, in Splenocytes and Mesenteric Lymph Node Cells of Weaning Piglets

Takeshi Tsuruta; Ryo Inoue; Toshiki Tsushima; Takumi Watanabe; Takamitsu Tsukahara; Kazunari Ushida

doi:10.12938/bmfh.32.123

Oral Administration of EC-12 Increases the Baseline Gene Expression of Antiviral Cytokine Genes, IFN-γ and TNF-α, in Splenocytes and Mesenteric Lymph Node Cells of Weaning Piglets

Biosci Microbiota Food Health. 2013;32(4):123-8. doi: 10.12938/bmfh.32.123. Epub 2013 Oct 30.

Authors

Takeshi Tsuruta¹, Ryo Inoue¹, Toshiki Tsushima¹, Takumi Watanabe², Takamitsu Tsukahara³, Kazunari Ushida¹

Affiliations

¹ Laboratory of Animal Science, Kyoto Prefectural University, 1-5 Shimogamo hangi-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-0823, Japan.
² Combi Corporation, 5-2-39 Nishibori, Sakura-ku, Saitama 338-0832, Japan.
³ Laboratory of Animal Science, Kyoto Prefectural University, 1-5 Shimogamo hangi-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-0823, Japan ; Kyoto Institute of Nutrition and Pathology, 7-2 Furuikedani, Uji-tawara, Kyoto 610-0231, Japan.

Abstract

Weaning piglets are continuously exposed to various viruses. The antiviral effects of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) have been confirmed mainly in humans and mice, while few studies have been conducted in livestock. In this study, we evaluated the effect of oral administration of Enterococcus faecalis strain EC-12 (EC-12) on the gene expressions of antiviral cytokines in weaning piglets. Piglets were allocated to the EC-12-administered group (E group) and the no-treatment control group (C group). The small intestinal tissue, the mesenteric lymph node (MLN) cells and the splenocytes were collected from the piglets. The tissue and cells were co-cultured with a live vaccine of porcine reproductive respiratory syndrome virus, porcine epidemic diarrhea virus or EC-12. After the incubation, the gene expressions of IFN-γ and TNF-α in the tissue and cells were evaluated. The gene expressions of IFN-γ in the MLN cells and TNF-α in the splenocytes were significantly higher in the E group than in the C group. However, the increase in the gene expression of antiviral cytokines was observed independently of the antigen treatments. The results of the present study suggest that oral administration of EC-12 did not increase the response of immune cells to specific viral antigens but increased the baseline gene expression of antiviral cytokines.

Keywords: Enterococcus faecalis strain EC-12; antiviral cytokine; ex vivo response; oral administration; piglet.