Intestinal permeability to macromolecules in piglets infected with transmissible gastroenteritis virus

The permeability of the intestine of specific pathogen free piglets was investigated by measuring the concentration of 125-I in the blood after oral administration of 125-I polyvinylpyrrolidone (125-I PVP, MW = 40,000 Da) and the concentration of 131-I in the faeces after intravenous administration of 131-I porcine albumin (131-I PA, MW = 68,000 Da). The tests were performed one day before and up to two days after the piglets were infected with the Miller strain of transmissible gastroenteritis (TGE) virus. Biopsies of the jejunum were taken at the end of the experiment and blood samples were taken six-hourly. The piglets became anorexic and had diarrhoea 12 hours after infection; the packed cell volume decreased and the concentrations of urea and total serum proteins increased slightly after infection. However, the marked villous atrophy was not accompanied by an increased permeability of the intestine to PVP or PA.