The prevention of diseases in the early stages of calf rearing is of fundamental importance. The onset of diseases often requires the administration of antimicrobials, but reducing their use in animals is currently a priority. Pegbovigrastim is a drug known for its immunoregulatory action in cows, but its function in calves has not been fully studied. The aim of the authors of this prospective study was to investigate the effects of pegbovigrastim administration on the nonspecific immunity of healthy calves.
Calves were randomly assigned to an experimental group or a control group to receive pegbovigrastim or the same volume of phosphate-buffered saline solution twice a day for a period of 7 days. To evaluate nonspecific immunity, total leukocyte numbers and cell numbers in appropriate cellular fractions were determined. Flow cytometric analyses were performed to identify cells expressing CD11b and to assess phagocytic and oxidative activities of granulocytes and monocytes. Myeloperoxidase (MPO) and selected cytokines were analyzed using ELISA.
Eleven clinically healthy 5-week-old calves were included in the study. Pegbovigrastim significantly increased the total leukocyte count and cell numbers in all examined subgroups (P < 0.05). The phagocytic activity of leukocytes, expressed as mean fluorescence intensity, was significantly enhanced after pegbovigrastim administration (P < 0.05); cytokine inflammatory response was also modulated following pegbovigrastim administration.
In conclusion, pegbovigrastim effectively stimulated nonspecific immunity in clinically healthy calves in this study; the use of these molecules could enable disease prevention during the early stages of rearing by strengthening the host's immune defense mechanisms.
“The effect of pegbovigrastim administration on the nonspecific immunity of calves”. Katarzyna Dudek, et al. J Vet Intern Med. 2023 Dec 5. doi: 10.1111/jvim.16939.
Source: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/jvim.16939
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