Egg white derivatives induce tumor necrosis factor-alpha expression in porcine peripheral blood mononuclear cells

Mhan-Pyo Yang1, In-Kyung Ko, Ji-Houn Kang

  • 1Laboratory of Veterinary Internal Medicine, Department of Veterinary Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine and Research Institute of Veterinary Medicine, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju, Chungbuk 361-763, Republic of Korea. mpyang@cbnu.ac.kr

Insights

Egg white derivatives (EWD) enhance porcine peripheral blood polymorphonuclear cell (PMN) phagocytosis by stimulating PBMC to produce TNF-alpha. This protein mediates the immunoenhancing effect, increasing PMN

Area of Science:

  • Immunology
  • Cell Biology
  • Biochemistry

Background:

  • Phagocytic activity of peripheral blood polymorphonuclear cells (PMN) is crucial for innate immunity.
  • Egg white derivatives (EWD) are potential immunomodulators, but their mechanism of action on porcine immune cells requires elucidation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the effect of EWD on porcine PMN phagocytic activity.
  • To identify the specific factor produced by peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) that enhances PMN phagocytosis upon EWD stimulation.

Main Methods:

  • Flow cytometry was used to measure PMN phagocytic activity.
  • PBMC culture supernatants were analyzed for phagocytic-enhancing factors.
  • Gel filtration, ELISA, SDS-PAGE, Western blotting, and RT-PCR were employed to identify and characterize the active factor.

Main Results:

  • EWD alone did not enhance PMN phagocytosis.
  • Culture supernatant from EWD-treated PBMC significantly enhanced PMN phagocytosis.
  • The active factor was identified as porcine tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), a 16-18 kDa protein.
  • EWD stimulation increased porcine TNF-alpha mRNA expression in PBMC.

Conclusions:

  • EWD stimulates porcine PBMC to produce TNF-alpha.
  • Porcine TNF-alpha mediates the enhanced phagocytic activity of PMN induced by EWD.
  • EWD exhibits an immunoenhancing effect on the porcine innate immune system via TNF-alpha production.

Related Concept Videos