Author(s)

Naosuke Kumagae, Julio Villena, Yohsuke Tomosada, Hisakazu Kobayashi, Paulraj Kanmani, Hisashi Aso, Takashi Sasaki, Motohiko Yoshida, Hiroshi Tanabe, Isao Shibata, Tadao Saito, Haruki Kitazawa

Cell Biology Laboratory, Graduate School of Agricultural Science, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan.
Food and Feed Immunology Group, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan.
Food and Feed Immunology Group, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan;Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), Tokyo, Japan.
Food and Feed Immunology Group, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan;Laboratory of Immunobiotechnology, Reference Centre for Lactobacilli (CERELA-CONICET), Tucuman, Argentina.
Food and Feed Immunology Group, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan;Scientific Feed Laboratory Co. Ltd., Tokyo, Japan.
Scientific Feed Laboratory Co. Ltd., Tokyo, Japan.

The establishment of drug-free feeding systems has been required for secure and healthy livestock production. Although functional feed materials containing microorganisms as alternatives to enhance intestinal immunity are expected to be beneficial for reducing diarrhoea caused by pathogens in weaned piglets, the effects of such materials on porcine intestinal cells have not been investigated in detail. Therefore, this work evaluated the immunoregulatory functions of microbial feed materials in porcine intestinal immune and epithelial cells. Porcine immune cells isolated from Peyer’s patches and mesenteric lymph nodes were stimulated with six different feed materials containing microorganisms, and evaluated for lymphocyte mitogenicity and cytokine inductions. In addition, porcine intestinal epithelial cells were stimulated with the materials before treatment with heat-killed enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC), and analyzed for the proinflammatory cytokine expressions. The material containing Bifidobacterium thermophilum significantly augmented lymphocytes’ mitogenicity and also induced a high expression of IL-2, IL-6 and IFN-γ in immune cells, and inhibited ETEC-induced overexpression of IL-6 and IL-8 via regulation of Toll-like receptor signaling. These results suggest that this feed material stimulates intestinal epithelial and immune cells to exert immunoregulation, suggesting that this feed is expected to contribute to promoting the health of piglets without using antimicrobial feed materials.

Feed Microbial Material; Immunoregulatory Effect; Porcine Intestinal Epitheliocytes; Porcine Immune Cells

Kumagae, N. , Villena, J. , Tomosada, Y. , Kobayashi, H. , Kanmani, P. , Aso, H. , Sasaki, T. , Yoshida, M. , Tanabe, H. , Shibata, I. , Saito, T. and Kitazawa, H. (2014) Evaluation of the Immunoregulatory Capacities of Feed Microbial Materials in Porcine Intestinal Immune and Epithelial Cells. Open Journal of Veterinary Medicine, 4, 15-28. doi: 10.4236/ojvm.2014.43003.