Changes in some factors of the innate immunity and serum zinc and iron concentrations in pigs following intravenous administration of Escherichia coli lipopolysaccharide.

The changes in some factors of the innate immunity (phagocytosis, complement, lysozyme); haematological parameters-leukocytes, erythrocytes, differential white blood cell counts, haemoglobin, haematocrit and the serum concentrations of the microelements zinc and iron in six 2- to 3-months-old female piglets after the intravenous administration of lipopolysaccharide from Escherichia coli 0111:B4 were determined. It was found out that 1 h after the administration of lipopolysaccharide at the dosage rate of 10 microg/kg body weight resulted in a decrease in the phagocytic parameters, i.e. the phagocytic number and the index of phagocytic activity, which was followed by an increase in their values between post treatment hours 2 and 4. The leukocyte counts had decreased by hour 2 after the injection, but thereafter increased, and at post treatment hour 72, a leukocytosis was observed. The differential white blood cell counts were characterized by a shift to the left between hours 2 and 4 and a statistically significant increase in lymphocyte counts at hour 48 of the experiment. The serum zinc concentrations were increased an hour after the lipopolysaccharide application; after which their average values were lower. The haemolytic activities (CH50) of the classical and the alternative pathways of complement activation decreased. The haemolytic activity (CH50) for the classical pathway began to increase at hour 48 following the treatment. Significant changes were not observed in lysozyme activity, serum iron concentrations or the related haematological parameters (erythrocytes and haemoglobin).

[Changes in the polymorphism of the blood serum alkaline phosphatase in chickens undergoing subacute lindane treatment]. / Promeni v polimorfizma na alkalnata fosfataza v kruvna plazma na kokoshki pri subakutno tretirane s lindan.

Investigated were a total of 123 birds of the White Leghorn breed and 50 birds of the White Plymouth Rock breed. Preliminary studies were carried out on the LD50 amount of lindane (151 mg/kg body mass) with 6 groups of chickens. The birds were divided into 4 subgroups for each breed. The first subgroup was a control one and was not given lindane, and the remaining subgroups were offered the following amounts of lindane in the course of 5 successive days: II - 1/20 LD50 (7.6 mg/kg daily); III - 1/10 LD50 (15.1 mg/kg); and IV - 1/5 LD50 (30.2 mg/kg). Each single one of the test birds was treated individually by means of a rubber tube and a syringe with a pure substance of lindane dissolved in oil. The polymorphism of alkaline phosphatase in the blood plasms of chickens was determined through horizontal electrophoresis in starch gel after the method of Gahne [14]. It was found that at subacute treatment of the birds a drop off was observed of the S1 fraction, and, as a result, the frequence of the homozygotic alkaline-phosphatase phenotypes FF and SS rose, while that of FS1 and SS1 dropped. Subacute treatment with part of the birds led to the appearance of an additional fraction F1, which accompanied the SS, SS1, and SS2 phenotypes only. The changes that took place as a result of the subacute treatment were only phenotypic ones as the F1 and S1 fractions had no hereditary character.