SUMMARY
A series of experiments was conducted to document tumor necrosis factor-α (tnf) activity in serum of swine after inoculation with Salmonella spp endotoxin and after oral or respiratory tract challenge exposure with live Salmonella spp. For experiment 1, a potentially lethal dose of S typhimurium endotoxin (25 μg/kg of body weight) was administered iv, and serum tnf activity was measured. High tnf (approx 700 IU/ml) activity at 1 to 2 hours after administration of the inoculum was associated with death, whereas lower tnf (approx 30 IU/ml) activity was associated with a general prolonged state of shock. For experiment 2, pigs were administered a nonlethal dose (5 μg/kg, iv) of either S typhimurium or S choleraesuis endotoxin. Difference in the ability to induce porcine serum tnf activity was not observed between strains. During experiment 3, pigs were inoculated with 104 colony-forming units of S typhimurium χ4232 either orally by gelatin capsule (gc) or by intranasal (in) instillation. A late serum tnf response (17 IU/ml) was measured at 6 weeks after in inoculation. A serum tnf response was not detected in gc-inoculated pigs. All tissues and feces were test-negative for S typhimurium prior to the 6-week tnf response. Serum tnf activity may be related to clearance of S typhimurium after respiratory tract exposure, but it is not important to or indicative of clearance of orally presented S typhimurium in swine. During experiment 4, pigs were inoculated with 106 colony-forming units of S typhimuriumχ4232 similarly as for experiment 3. Challenge exposure with this medium-size dose of inoculum induced a prolonged peak serum tnf response (37 IU/ml) between 2 and 4 weeks after in inoculation. Again, serum tnf activity was not detected in gc-inoculated pigs. Data suggest that clearance of a medium-size dose (106) of inoculum may be influenced by the prolonged higher serum tnf activity. For experiments 5 and 6, pigs were inoculated in with 103, 106, 108, or 109 S choleraesuis χ3246. A measurable, yet statistically nonsignificant, serum tnf response was observed for all doses. Pigs inoculated by gc with 108 S choleraesuis χ3246 had similar results. High doses (> 106) of live S choleraesuis were associated with clinical signs of endotoxic shock. Clearance of S choleraesuis, or lack thereof, did not correlate with serum tnf activity.
