Сельскохозяйственная биология, 2012, № 2, с. 106-112.

doi: 10.15389/agrobiology.2012.2.106eng

УДК 636.93:636.087.7:[591.111+571.27]

STATE OF ANTIOXIDANT AND IMMUNE SYSTEMS IN FOX AND POLAR FOX IN POSTVACCINAL PERIOD DURING ADDITION OF SUCCINIC ACID TO THEIR FOOD

O.Yu. Bespyatykh, I.A. Domskii, Z.N. Bel’tyukova, A.E. Kokorina, T.V. Teben’kova

In scientific-practical experiment in young foxes and polar foxes during planned vaccination at the beginning of postvaccinal period the authors revealed the rise in content of antibodies, globulins, bacterial activity of blood serum and phagocytosis activity with simultaneous reduction of activity of protein SH-groups and ceruloplasmin. After forming of immune response the activity of protein SH-groups and ceruloplasmin is restored. The succinic acid after addition to food (5 mg/kg live weight) before and after planned vaccination promotes to the enhancement of immune response and more rapid recovery of activity of protein SH-groups and ceruloplasmin at the postveccinal period. For this purpose the succinic acid is recommended to introduce in rations of foxes and polar foxes during 5 days before vaccination.

Keywords: antioxidant system, immune system, succinic acid, furry animals, fox, blue fox, vaccination.

Modern fur farming often faces such a widespread problem as infectious diseases of livestock arising against the noncompliance of feeding technology and improper keeping conditions violating natural resistance and immune response in specific prevention of diseases (1-4).
Adverse factors cause in the organism of fur animals an activation of lipid peroxidation. This, in turn, increases the functional load on the antioxidant system, which is associated with disturbances in metabolism of plastic substances and energy (1, 5-7). This state can be normalized by various medications with antioxidant and / or immunomodulatory properties (2, 4, 8). Vaccination of animals against the use of these substances enhances their immune response (2-4). One of such medications is succinic acid – an antioxidant, immunomodulator, detoxicant with antihypoxic effect and other valuable properties (9, 10). In fur farming succinic acid was applied to optimize physiological status and productivity of minks and foxes (11-15), as well as during a vaccination of foxes (16). It was also shown its effect on the antioxidant system of minks under violation of feeding regime (17). However, an available scientific literature had no yet any data on the effect of succinic acid on the antioxidant and immune systems during a vaccination of animals, which facts are important for improvement of specific prevention and treatment of infectious diseases of fur-bearing animals.
The purpose of this work was studying the effect of succinic acid on the antioxidant status and immune system in red and polar foxes during a post-vaccination period.
Technique. Experiments were performed in 2008-2010 on young animals of red foxes the red breed (Vulpes vulpes L.) and polar foxes the blue “veil” breed (Alopex lagopus L.) bred in fur farms of LLC “Vyatka” (Kirov province) under standard conditions of feeding and keeping accepted in the enterprise. One control group and two experimental groups were formed from 2-months-old analogs (group size: red foxes – 16 animals, polar foxes – 12). The experimental animals were given a feed supplemented with succinic acid (5 mg/kg body weight): Group I– during 5 days prior to vaccination, Group II - for 5 days before and 3 days after the vaccination. Control animals did not receive the supplement. Red foxes were immunized with an inactivated vaccine against salmonellosis (“Armavir Biofactory”, production date August 2007, series 9, control 9), polar foxes – with a vaccine against canine distemper Bionor-D (“Biocenter”, production date June 2009, series 36, control 55) according to application instructions.
In each group blood samples were obtained from 5 animals (from plantar vein before a morning feeding) in 7, 14, 21, and 28 days after immunization. The blood was tested to determine malondialdehyde (MDA), SH-groups (thiol groups) of proteins, ceruloplasmin (18), antibody titer to Salmonella antigen (19), antibody titer to canine distemper virus (20), g-globulin (19), total immunoglobulin (21), serum bactericidal activity (SBA) (22), and phagocytic index (19).
The obtained data were statistically processed in BioStat program.
Results. Red foxes in 1 week after vaccination (Table 1) demonstrated MDA level exceeding a pre-vaccination baseline: the maximum was observed in Control and in Group II (resp., by 35,2 and 40,1%, P <0,001) and the minimum - in Group I (17,5%). Later, MDA levels began to decline and by the end of observation period they equalized in Control and in Group I, while in Group II remained 9,2% above the baseline. The content of SH-groups of proteins increased in Control up to 11,3% by the 21st day, in Group II – 16,2% by the 14th day post vaccination. Group I showed a slightly lower content of thiol groups of proteins throughout the experiment compared with its initial value. By the end of the observation period this parameter was lower than prior to vaccination: the greatest reduce was found in Control (by 19,0%), and a slightly smaller - in Groups I and II (resp., 11,0% and 6,9%). Ceruloplasmin activity in the 1st post-vaccination week was much lower than the initial level: the greatest reduce manifested Group II (by 43,2%, P <0,01) and Control (37,6%, P <0,05), and much smaller - Group I (29,5%, P <0,05). By the 21st day this parameter was restored in Control and in Group I, while in Group II it exceeded the pre-vaccination level by 8,2%.
Immune system of red foxes developed an intense response to the introduced Salmonella’s antigens (Table 1). Already on the 7th day after vaccination all the groups reached the maximum antibody titers and highest levels of g-globulin and total immunoglobulin. The greatest growth of these parameters was observed in Group II (resp., 90-fold, by 74,0 % (P <0,05) and 27,9%), the smallest - in Control group (resp., 45-fold, by 24,0 and 9,3% ). Later the levels of these parameters declined: total immunoglobulin - on the 14th day, g-globulin – on the 21st day, antibody titers - on the 28th day after the immunization. The reduce in total  immunoglobulin relative its peak was greatest in Control (by 66,0%, P <0,01) and lowest - in Group II (by 36,4%, P <0,01); the recorded values were 19-62% below the initial level, which though was almost restored by the end of the observation period. The content of γ-globulin decreased by the 21st day after vaccination: a maximum reduce showed Groups I and II (30-31%), in Control - by 19,5% relative to the maximum. In all three groups this parameter exceeded the initial level throughout the experiment.
Antibody titers in different groups by the end of the observation reduced to an equal level: in Control, Groups I and II – resp.,  in 16,0; 22,7 and 38,0 times. BSA maximum was recorded in Control group on the 21st day (increase by 23,2%), in Groups I and II - on the 28th day post vaccination (resp., by 78,0% at P <0,01, and 3,4% above the baseline). Phagocytic index increased already in 1 week after immunization: in Control - by 23,8%, in Group I – 21,2%, and in Group II - by 29,0% relative to the initial value. Later it slightly decreased, but by the end of observation it re-elevated in Control and in Group II (resp., by 18,3 and 2,2%) up to the maximum.

Polar foxes (Table 2) showed the increase in MDA content during the 1st post-vaccination week in Control - by 26,3%, in Group II – 11,4%, while the decrease in Group I by 11,4% relative to the baseline. Later this parameter began to decline; by the end of observation period the initial level was restored in Control and in Group II, but in Group I the reduce continued up to 23,1% (P <0,05) of the maximum value recorded in the 1st week after immunization. The content of SH-groups of proteins fluctuated in different groups throughout the experiment. Ceruloplasmin level dropped below the baseline in the 1st week after vaccination: to the smallest degree – in Control (27,3%, P <0,01), and the maximum - in Group I (42,8%, P <0,001 ). Further this parameter began to grow though not reaching the initial level by the end of observation. Ceruloplasmin content was inferior to the initial level:  in Control - by 28,3% (P <0,01), in Group I - by 18,4% (P <0,05), and in Group II - by 21,0% (P <0,05).
Antibody titers in the 1st post-vaccination week increased 7,1-7,7 times (P <0,001) compared to the initial value. After 7 days it started to decline and by the end of observation it decreased by 23% (P <0,05) relative to the maximum. The highest antibody titers were developed by Group I by the 21st day after vaccination (i.e. 9,3 times than the initial, P <0,001), and then by the end of the experiment it reduced by 14,7% relative to its maximum. In Group II the peak of antibody titers occurred on the 14th day and then declined by 20,8% by the end of observation. The greatest levels of g-globulins were manifested by Control and in Group I on the 21st day, while the value of Group I was highest among all animals. In Control, this parameter grew 4,5 times (P <0,001), in Group I – 6,2 times (P <0,01) above a baseline. Group II reached the maximum level of γ-globulin already on the 14th day after the vaccination (4,7 times greater than the initial, P <0,001). By the end of the experiment this value decreased relative to its peak: in Control – by 19,0% (P <0,001), in Group I - 29,7% (P <0,01), and in Group II – 31,7% (P <0,05), which though remained highest in Group I.
The content of total immunoglobulin was maximum in Group I on the 14th post-vaccination day (exceeding the initial level by 78,0%, P <0,01), a smallest increase showed Control group - by 39,0% (P <0,05), an intermediate - Group II (by 52,0%, P <0,05) compared with a baseline. By the end of observation period total immunoglobulin in Control and in Group I decreased by 22-25% (P <0,05) relative the recorded peak, while Group II maintained the maximum levels until the end of the experiment. The maximum  BSA was reached on the 14th day after immunization, which was the most pronounced in Group I - 2,5 times relative to the initial level (P <0,01), while in Control and in Group II it grew 2,2 and 2,3 times (P <0,05). By the 28th day BSA declined in Control group by 49,2% (P <0,05), in Group I - by 38,0% (P <0,001), in Group II - by 27,3% (P < 0,01) of its maximum value. A maximum phagocytic index was recorded in Control group, and it further increased in 2,1 times by the end of the experiment (P <0,001) compared with a baseline. In Group I this index was highest on the 21st day, in Group II - on the 14th day (resp., 2,0 times, P <0,001, and 86,4%, P <0,05).
The observed increase in MDA (an intermediate product of lipid peroxidation) in early post-vaccination period was associated with reduced activity of the antioxidant system evaluated from the contents of SH-groups of proteins and ceruloplasmin. The antioxidant activity started to recover in red foxes in 2-3 weeks, in polar foxes – in 1 month after the vaccination. This fact was reflected by restoration of MDA level up to its initial value by the end of the experiment. Succinic acid administered with food improved the activity of SH-groups of proteins and ceruloplasmin. In red foxes this contributed to the development of enhanced humoral response to the vaccine during the 1st week and activation of cellular immunity in following 20 days. In polar foxes the immune response was detected on the 14th-21st day of a post-vaccination period accompanied by a simultaneous increase in antibody titers, globulins, BSA and phagocytic index. Succinic acid administered to the fur animals with feed during 5 days before immunization helped to activate SH-groups of proteins and ceruloplasmin, as well as the development of higher levels of antibodies, globulins, and BSA. Additional supplementation with succinic acid during 3 days after the vaccination has provided in red foxes a hyperimmune response undesirable for animals’ health, but in polar foxes it accelerated immune response simultaneously reducing its intensity.
Thus, both red and polar foxes in early post-vaccination period demonstrated the increase in antibody titers, globulins, serum bactericidal activity and phagocytic index against a simultaneous reduce in activity of thiol groups of proteins and ceruloplasmin. After the development of immune response to immunizing antigens, the activity of SH-groups of proteins and ceruloplasmin was restored. It was experimentally proved that succinic acid enhances immune response during a post-vaccination period and accelerates restoration of activity of thiol groups of proteins and ceruloplasmin. The obtained facts allow to recommend succinic acid as a diet supplement administered to red and polar foxes at the dose of 5 mg/kg body weight for 5 days prior to vaccination.

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