Dynamics of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokine changes in serum and assessment of their diagnostic utility during lactation impairment in pigs

Postpartum dysgalactia syndrome (PDS) in sows is a frequent and important clinical problem in the field. Currently, the diagnosis is based on physical examination performed during first days after the farrowing. The present study aimed at evaluation the dynamics of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokine (IL-4, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10 and TNF-alpha) changes in serum of sows during peripartum period (day - 28 to + 28) and assessment of their diagnostic utility during lactation impairment in pigs. The study was done on 139 sows divided into 3 groups: clinically healthy sows, sows with lactation disorders, sows which had experienced difficult parturitions, lameness, etc. In order to measure the level of serum cytokines, the quantitative species-specific ELISA assays were used. The investigation demonstrated a different kinetics of changes of studied cytokines in sows from various groups. IL-6 and TNF-alfa shown high dynamic changes after farrowing in in sows. The levels of IL-8 and IL-10 were relatively stable in healthy sows, while in sows with peripartum disorders usually increased during lactation. However, the detailed examination revealed that investigated cytokines cannot be a useful early diagnostic markers of lactation impairments in sow. They do not allow to detect with high probability which sows are susceptible to lactation disorders before the parturition.