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Bulletin No. 22 - Summer 2005
MiscelleanousWelfare
MERLOT E
Conséquences du stress sur la fonction immunitaire chez les animaux d’élevage [consequences of stress on immune function in farm animals].
Productions Animales, 2004, Volume 17, N°4, 255-264
Numerous studies have shown how stressing events can modify the functioning of the immune system and increase the susceptibility of pigs to pathogens. This paper reviews the current knowledge about how the neuroendocrine response to chronic (poor housing conditions) and acute (transport, mixing) stress can induce alterations of the immune function at different levels: distribution and proliferation of leukocytes, innate immunity, inflammatory response, acquired immunity (reduced efficacy of vaccination in case of an early subsequent stress), susceptibility to bacterial infections. Obviously, the response of the organism highly depends on the nature and the duration of the stress factor but also depends on which cell line (lymphocytes, macrophages, polymorphonuclear leukocytes) and which body compartment (blood, respiratory mucosa, gastro-intestinal mucosa) are involved. In most of the cases, pathogens infect the organism through a mucosal surface but too little information is available about the effect of stress on the mucosal immune defenses. More research is needed in this field.
