Growth of Pigs With Viral and Bacterial Pneumonia
Infection with PRRSV increased serum IL-1beta and IL-6, increased MSTN and mRNA in skeletal muscle, and decreased FI, WG, PA and the mass of several skeletal muscles, but neither Mh nor the MhxPRRSV interaction were significant. The Mh-induced lung lesions, however, were 3- to 5-times greater in pigs with both Mh and PRRSV than in those with Mh alone. Correcting WG and PA for differences in FI after PRRSV inoculation showed that the reduction in FI was able to explain the decrease in WG but not the decline in PA. Serum cytokines were negatively correlated with FI, WG and PA, and positively correlated with MSTN mRNA. Myostatin mRNA was positively correlated with WG and PA. Thus, the magnitude of increases in inflammatory cytokines and MSTN following a disease challenge may be predictive of the decreases that can be expected in PA and growth. Collectively, these findings suggest that the decrease in growth in PRRSV-infected pigs may be due to an increase in metabolically active inflammatory cytokines and MSTN gene expression.
University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign
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University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign