Introduction: The aim of the study was to explore the effect of enrofloxacin on production of selected cytokines by porcine peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs).
Material and Methods: Twenty pigs (10 control and 10 experimental) were used in this research. Pigs from experimental group received enrofloxacin at therapeutic doses. Blood samples were collected before, during, and after treatment with enrofloxacin. PBMCs were incubated with or without lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Production of IL-6, IL-10, INF-γ, and TNF-α were determined by ELISA.
Results: Administration of enrofloxacin to healthy pigs for 5 d induced a transient reduction of the PBMCs response to LPS in terms of IL-6 and TNF-α secretion. The concentration of IL-6 returned to the day 0 level shortly after treatment, while TNF-α production remained reduced for 10 d after the treatment. The production of IL-10 was not affected by enrofloxacin. The level of IFN-γ was below the detection limit of the tests.
Conclusion: The results indicate that enrofloxacin administered in vivo in therapeutic doses has an immunomodulatory effect through its capacity to inhibit secretion of IL-6 and TNF-α by porcine PBMC stimulated by LPS.
