Immunomodulating dose of levamisole stimulates innate immune response and prevents intestinal damage in porcine rotavirus diarrhea: a restricted-randomized, single-blinded, and placebo-controlled clinical trial

• Published in: Tropical animal health and production Vol. 51; no. 6; pp. 1455 - 1465
• Main Authors: Chethan, Gollahalli Eregowda, Kumar De, Ujjwal, Garkhal, Jugal, Sircar, Shubhankar, Malik, Yash Pal Singh, Sahoo, Nihar Ranjan, Abhishek, Verma, Med Ram
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Springer Netherlands 01.07.2019; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Animals; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Chemical compounds; Clinical trials; Consistency; Damage prevention; Dehydration; Dehydration - veterinary; Diarrhea; Diarrhea - veterinary; Digestive system; Fatty acid-binding protein; Feces; Feces - chemistry; Gastrointestinal tract; Immune response; Immune system; Immunity; Immunity, Innate - drug effects; Immunoglobulin G; Immunomodulation; Injury prevention; Innate immunity; Interferon; Interferon-gamma - metabolism; Intestine; Intestines; Leukocytes; Levamisole; Levamisole - administration & dosage; Levamisole - pharmacology; Life Sciences; Nitric oxide; Nitrogen oxides; Nitrogen Oxides - metabolism; Pharmacology; Proteins; Random Allocation; Randomization; Reagents; Regular Articles; Rotavirus; Rotavirus - physiology; Rotavirus Infections - veterinary; Swine; Swine Diseases - drug therapy; Swine Diseases - virology; Swine production; Veterinary Medicine/Veterinary Science; Viruses; Zoology; γ-Interferon; Interferon-gamma; Rotavirus; Intestinal fatty acid-binding protein 2; Nitric oxide; Immunoglobulin G; Levamisole
• ISSN: 0049-4747; 1573-7438
• DOI: 10.1007/s11250-019-01833-1

A restricted-randomized, single-blinded, placebo-controlled clinical trial was conducted to examine whether immunomodulating dose of levamisole (LMS) can stimulate certain antiviral immune markers by measuring the concentrations of interferon-γ (IFN-γ), nitric oxide (NOx), and total immunoglobulin G (IgG); prevents the gut injury; and reduces fecal consistency and dehydration scores in rotavirus type A (RVA)-positive piglet diarrhea. The trial was executed between November 2015 and May 2016 in an institute owned experimental swine production farm. The naturally RVA-exposed diarrheic piglets were used in the study. The piglets born between November 2015 and May 2016, age group of 0 to 2 weeks and confirmed for RVA-positive diarrhea, were randomized to receive supportive treatment (ST) or ST along with levamisole (LMS + ST) at immunomodulating dose. Simultaneously, six piglets were randomly selected from healthy population and kept as placebo control. The primary outcome was reduction of fecal consistency and dehydration scores (≤ 1) over the trial period. The secondary outcome was reduction of concentration of gut injury marker and stimulation of immunomodulatory function. The LMS + ST treatment progressively improved the total leukocyte, neutrophil count, IgG concentration ( p  < 0.05), and reduced the intestinal fatty acid-binding protein 2 (IFABP-2) concentration in RV-positive diarrheic piglets than ST only. Although NOx and IFN-γ concentrations were enhanced initially on day 3, however, the values reduced significantly on day 5 in response to LMS + ST compared to ST. Interestingly, the scores of fecal consistency and dehydration of RVA-positive diarrheic piglets were dropped much earlier (on day 3) in response to LMS + ST than ST alone. The results indicate that LMS along with supportive treatment non-specifically modulated innate immunity and restored intestinal gut health, and thus, LMS may represent an additional therapeutic agent for management of RVA-inflicted piglet diarrhea.