Semester

Summer

Date of Graduation

2014

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Type

MS

College

Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design

Department

Animal and Nutritional Sciences

Committee Chair

Scott A. Bowdridge

Committee Co-Chair

Scott A. Bowdridge

Committee Member

Sangita V. Jalukar

Committee Member

Margaret A. Minch.

Abstract

Multidrug resistant gastrointestinal nematodes have left sheep producers with little options to control the detrimental effects of parasitism on their flocks. Immunomodulation has been used in many autoimmune diseases in an effort to downregulate the immune system and alleviate pathology. However, upregulation of immune responses by use of dietary immunosaccharides may allow parasite susceptible sheep to clear a Haemonchus contortus infection. To test this hypothesis, Dorset-Texel lambs were fed a ration including CelmanaxRTM at 1g/hd/day for one week prior to receiving an experimental infection of 10,000 L3 stage H. contortus larvae; which continued until the completion of the study. Increases in eosinophils and mannose binding lectin-C were observed in lambs receiving CelmanaxRTM indicating upregulation of innate immune responses. CelmanaxRTM alone reduced TNF-&agr; mRNA within fundic mucosa, aiding in the polarization of a TH2 immune response. Supplementation with CelmanaxRTM did not have any effects on worm burden or fecal egg count (FEC) in infected lambs. These results indicate that CelmanaxRTM has immunomodulatory properties, but may not have absolute effects on clearing helminth infections in Texel crossbred lambs.

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