1Institute of Food Safety, Feed and Environment, Veterinary Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Gerbičeva 60, 1115, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
2Institute of Pathology, Wild Animals, Fish and Bees, Veterinary Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
Acta Vet Hung. 2020 Aug 31;68(2):186-192. doi: 10.1556/004.2020.00030.
In this study, feed naturally containing Fusarium mycotoxins was fed to gilts during the perinatal period, and the effects on the thymus were investigated in one-week-old piglets. Twenty gilts were divided into equal control (0.26 mg deoxynivalenol, DON) and experimental (5.08 mg DON, 0.09 mg zearalenone and 21.61 mg fusaric acid per kg of feed) groups. One suckling piglet from each litter (n = 20) was sacrificed at one week of age to obtain thymus samples for further analysis. The cortex to medulla ratio of the thymus was morphometrically analysed using NIS Elements BR (Nikon) software. Paraffin-embedded thymus sections were stained to quantify apoptosis (with terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick-end labelling - TUNEL method), cellular proliferation (Ki-67) and macrophages (MAC 387). The results showed that the thymus cortex (P = 0.023) to medulla (P = 0.023) ratio was significantly lower in the experimental group. The number of apoptotic cells (cortex, P = 0.010, medulla, P = 0.001) and the number of proliferating cells in the thymus cortex (P = 0.001) and medulla (P < 0.001) were significantly higher in the experimental group. Our results indicate that feeding Fusarium mycotoxins to a parent animal during the perinatal period induces significant alterations in the thymus of one-week-old piglets, which indicates an immunosuppressive effect in piglets.
在这项研究中，在围产期给母猪饲喂天然含有镰刀菌霉菌毒素的饲料，并在一周龄仔猪中研究其对胸腺的影响。将 20 头母猪分为相等的对照组（0.26mg 脱氧雪腐镰刀菌烯醇，DON）和实验组（5.08mg DON、0.09mg 玉米赤霉烯酮和 21.61mg 伏马酸/公斤饲料）。每个窝产仔猪中各取一只（n=20）于一周龄处死，以获得胸腺样本进行进一步分析。使用 NIS Elements BR（尼康）软件对胸腺的皮质-髓质比例进行形态计量学分析。对石蜡包埋的胸腺切片进行染色，以定量分析凋亡（末端脱氧核苷酸转移酶介导的 dUTP 缺口末端标记-TUNEL 法）、细胞增殖（Ki-67）和巨噬细胞（MAC 387）。结果表明，实验组的胸腺皮质（P=0.023）到髓质（P=0.023）的比例显著降低。实验组的凋亡细胞数量（皮质，P=0.010，髓质，P=0.001）和胸腺皮质（P=0.001）和髓质（P<0.001）的增殖细胞数量显著增加。我们的结果表明，在围产期给母体动物饲喂镰刀菌霉菌毒素会导致一周龄仔猪的胸腺发生显著变化，表明仔猪存在免疫抑制作用。
