Ontario Veterinary College, Department of Population Medicine (Golightly, David-Steel, Poljak, O'Sullivan) and Ontario Agricultural College, Department of Animal Biosciences (Bergeron), University of Guelph, 50 Stone Road East, Guelph, Ontario N1G 2W1; Prairie Swine Centre, 2105 8th Street East, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7H 5N9 (Brown); Western College of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences, University of Saskatchewan, 52 Campus Drive, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 5B4 (Seddon).
Can Vet J. 2023 May;64(5):474-478.
Describe concentrations of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) detectable in piglet sera before and after road transport, and evaluate the correlation of serum BDNF with other physiological parameters used to assess swine welfare.
Commercial crosses of piglets that underwent weaning and transport at approximately 3 wk of age.
Sixteen piglets were randomly selected from a larger study for complete blood counts, serum biochemistry testing, cortisol assays, and BDNF assays. Samples were collected 1 d before transport and immediately after transport (> 30 h) under commercial conditions. We assessed the change in serum BDNF concentration; and the correlations between serum BDNF and serum cortisol, neutrophil to lymphocyte ratios (N:L), glucose, and hematological indicators of muscle fatigue.
Serum BDNF concentrations increased after transport ( < 0.05) and changed inversely compared to cortisol and N:L. Consistent correlations between BDNF and other physiological parameters were not observed. High inter-pig variation in serum BDNF was present at both sample times.
Serum BDNF may be used as an additional indicator of swine welfare. Further research characterizing piglet BDNF concentrations in response to conditions promoting positive or negative affective states would be valuable.
This communication discusses common hematological parameters used to quantify changes in pig welfare and introduces BDNF, which is a parameter of interest in human cognitive functioning research that may be useful for evaluating the effect of exposure to beneficial or aversive stimuli in animals. The implications of variation in sample collection, handling, and storage procedures for BDNF detection are highlighted.
描述仔猪血清中脑源性神经营养因子(BDNF)在道路运输前后的可检测浓度,并评估血清 BDNF 与其他用于评估猪福利的生理参数的相关性。
在大约 3 周龄时经历断奶和运输的商业杂交仔猪。
从一项更大的研究中随机选择了 16 头仔猪进行全血细胞计数、血清生化检测、皮质醇测定和 BDNF 测定。在商业条件下,于运输前 1 天和运输后(>30 小时)立即采集样本。我们评估了血清 BDNF 浓度的变化;以及血清 BDNF 与血清皮质醇、中性粒细胞与淋巴细胞比值(N:L)、葡萄糖和肌肉疲劳的血液学指标之间的相关性。
血清 BDNF 浓度在运输后增加(<0.05),与皮质醇和 N:L 呈反比变化。BDNF 与其他生理参数之间没有一致的相关性。在两个样本时间点,血清 BDNF 均存在高个体间变异。
血清 BDNF 可作为猪福利的附加指标。进一步研究仔猪 BDNF 浓度对促进积极或消极情绪状态的条件的反应将是有价值的。
本通讯讨论了用于量化猪福利变化的常用血液学参数,并介绍了 BDNF,这是人类认知功能研究中感兴趣的参数,可能有助于评估动物接触有益或有害刺激的效果。强调了样本采集、处理和储存程序变化对 BDNF 检测的影响。