Influence of technological stress on the immunological reactivity ofpiglets

Abstract

Hematological leukocyte indexes reflect the relationship between different classes of cells of the leukocyte formula and can provide information about intoxication and the state of the immune response in sick animals. Moreover, calculated leukocyte indexes can become an alternative to complex and expensive studies to determine the immunogram, cytokine content, and a number of other biochemical parameters. In this paper, we considered the nature of changes in immunological indicators in piglets under technological stress as a result of weaning and regrouping, and we used calculated leukocyte indexes. To organize the research, we selected clinically healthy Landrace piglets (n=5) in one of the pig breeding complexes in the Leningrad region. The studies were conducted one day before weaning of piglets from sows, age 25 days, and two weeks after weaning at the age of 41 days. Blood was collected using a standard method and examined on a hematological analyzer to determine the morphological composition of white blood cells. The calculation of leukocyte indices was performed using formulas that characterize the ratio of the content of various forms of white blood cells, and in some cases, the rate of precipitation of red blood cells. The functional changes observed by the piglets 'immune system as a result of regrouping stress confirm the negative impact of the technological process on the animals' immunity and provide a prerequisite for studying the ways and mechanisms of increasing their protective forces at this stage of the technological cycle. Analysis of integral leukocyte indexes showed an imbalance of specific (adaptive) and non-specific (innate) components of immunity in the dynamics of changes in immunocompetent blood cells against the background of stress.