1. Vitamin E and aspirin depress prostaglandins in protection of chickens against Escherichia coli infection.
- Author
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Likoff RO, Guptill DR, Lawrence LM, McKay CC, Mathias MM, Nockels CF, and Tengerdy RP
- Subjects
- Animals, Antibody Formation drug effects, Aspirin therapeutic use, Bursa of Fabricius metabolism, Chickens, Escherichia coli Infections immunology, Phagocytosis drug effects, Prostaglandins biosynthesis, Spleen metabolism, Vitamin E therapeutic use, Aspirin pharmacology, Escherichia coli Infections metabolism, Prostaglandins metabolism, Vitamin E pharmacology
- Abstract
The hypothesis was tested that vitamin E protects chickens from a lethal Escherichia coli infection by inhibiting the biosynthesis of prostaglandins, thereby activating humoral immunity and phagocytosis. When chickens were fed supplement vitamin E at the level of 300 mg/kg diet, which is six times the presently used dietary level, endogenous PGE1, PGE2, and PGF2 alpha levels decreased in the immunopoietic organs, bursa, and spleen. Antibody titers to E. coli lipopolysaccharide and phagocytosis increased at the same time. Infection slightly increased prostaglandin levels and vitamin E appeared to compensate for this increase. Aspirin, a known prostaglandin inhibitor acted synergistically with vitamin E in depressing endogenous PG levels in bursa and decreasing mortality from E. coli infection.
- Published
- 1981
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