Teagasc, Pig Development Department, Animal and Grassland Research and Innovation Centre, Moorepark, Fermoy, Ireland.
PLoS One. 2011;6(11):e27177. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0027177. Epub 2011 Nov 23.
We assessed the effect of short-term feeding of genetically modified (GM: Bt MON810) maize on immune responses and growth in weanling pigs and determined the fate of the transgenic DNA and protein in-vivo. Pigs were fed a diet containing 38.9% GM or non-GM isogenic parent line maize for 31 days. We observed that IL-12 and IFNγ production from mitogenic stimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cells decreased (P<0.10) following 31 days of GM maize exposure. While Cry1Ab-specific IgG and IgA were not detected in the plasma of GM maize-fed pigs, the detection of the cry1Ab gene and protein was limited to the gastrointestinal digesta and was not found in the kidneys, liver, spleen, muscle, heart or blood. Feeding GM maize to weanling pigs had no effect on growth performance or body weight. IL-6 and IL-4 production from isolated splenocytes were increased (P<0.05) in response to feeding GM maize while the proportion of CD4(+) T cells in the spleen decreased. In the ileum, the proportion of B cells and macrophages decreased while the proportion of CD4(+) T cells increased in GM maize-fed pigs. IL-8 and IL-4 production from isolated intraepithelial and lamina propria lymphocytes were also increased (P<0.05) in response to feeding GM maize. In conclusion, there was no evidence of cry1Ab gene or protein translocation to the organs and blood of weaning pigs. The growth of pigs was not affected by feeding GM maize. Alterations in immune responses were detected; however, their biologic relevance is questionable.
我们评估了短期喂养基因改良（GM：Bt MON810）玉米对断奶仔猪免疫反应和生长的影响，并确定了转基因 DNA 和蛋白质在体内的命运。猪用含有 38.9% GM 或非 GM 同系亲本系玉米的饮食喂养 31 天。我们观察到，GM 玉米暴露 31 天后，有丝分裂原刺激的外周血单个核细胞中 IL-12 和 IFNγ的产生减少（P<0.10）。虽然 GM 玉米喂养的猪血浆中未检测到 Cry1Ab 特异性 IgG 和 IgA，但 Cry1Ab 基因和蛋白的检测仅限于胃肠道消化物，而在肾脏、肝脏、脾脏、肌肉、心脏或血液中未发现。用 GM 玉米喂养断奶仔猪对生长性能或体重没有影响。用 GM 玉米喂养后，分离的脾细胞中 IL-6 和 IL-4 的产生增加（P<0.05），而脾中 CD4(+)T 细胞的比例下降。在回肠中，GM 玉米喂养的猪中 B 细胞和巨噬细胞的比例下降，而 CD4(+)T 细胞的比例增加。用 GM 玉米喂养后，分离的上皮内和固有层淋巴细胞中 IL-8 和 IL-4 的产生也增加（P<0.05）。总之，没有证据表明 Cry1Ab 基因或蛋白转移到断奶仔猪的器官和血液中。用 GM 玉米喂养不会影响猪的生长。检测到免疫反应的改变；然而，它们的生物学相关性值得怀疑。
