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Comparative therapeutic effect of steroidal and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs on pro-inflammatory cytokine production in water buffalo calves (Bubalus bubalis) naturally infected with bronchopneumonia: a randomized clinical trial

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Abstract

In the current study, we compared the therapeutic effects of a non-steroidal and a steroidal anti-inflammatory drug on the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines, interleukin-1β (IL-1β), interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-12p40 (IL-12p40), interferon gamma (IFNγ), and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) in the blood of water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) calves naturally infected by bronchopneumonia. Twenty-seven buffalo calves (7 ± 2-month-old, 163 ± 12 kg) reared in smallholder farms in El-Dakahlia province in Egypt were identified to have bronchopneumonia and randomly allocated into three equal groups. Ten clinically healthy buffalo calves with negative bronchoalveolar lavage results were served as negative control. Diseased calves were treated with tulathromycin alone, a combination of tulathromycin with dexamethasone (steroidal anti-inflammatory drug) or tulathromycin with flunixin meglumine (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug). The results revealed significant elevations (P < 0.05) in the production of selected cytokines in all diseased calves in comparison with healthy animals. Six days post-treatment, a significant inhibition (P < 0.05) in the production of all assessed cytokines was observed in the blood of all treated calves. Interestingly, the serum concentrations of IL-1β and IL-12p40 were returned to the normal levels in pneumonic calves treated with the combination therapy of tulathromycin and flunixin meglumine. A strong significant positive correlation (P < 0.05) was detected between clinical sum scoring and IL-12p40 and TNF-α concentrations. The obtained results indicate the selectively potent anti-inflammatory effect of flunixin meglumine on the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines in pneumonic buffalo calves and highlight the efficacy of flunixin meglumine in the treatment of bronchopneumonia in buffalo calves when used in combination with tulathromycin.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by the Ministry of Higher Education of Egypt. The authors would like to thank the owners and staff of the study animal in Egypt.

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Correspondence to Mohamed Abdo Rizk or Motamed Elsayed Mahmoud.

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All Institutional and National Guidelines for the care and use of animals were followed according to the Egyptian Medical Research Ethics Committee (no. 14–126).

Electronic supplementary material

Fig. S1.

Standard cytokine curve for interleukin 1 β (IL-1 β) (GIF 78 kb)

High resolution image (TIFF 1521 kb)

Fig. S2.

Standard cytokine curve for interleukin 6 (IL-6) (GIF 81 kb)

High resolution image (TIFF 1521 kb)

Fig. S3.

Standard cytokine curve for interleukin 12p40 (IL-12p40) (GIF 82 kb)

High resolution image (TIFF 1521 kb)

Fig. S4.

Standard cytokine curve for tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) (GIF 83 kb)

High resolution image (TIFF 1521 kb)

Fig. S5.

Standard cytokine curve for interferon gamma (IFNγ) (GIF 88 kb)

High resolution image (TIFF 1521 kb)

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Rizk, M.A., Mahmoud, M.E., El-Sayed, S.A.ES. et al. Comparative therapeutic effect of steroidal and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs on pro-inflammatory cytokine production in water buffalo calves (Bubalus bubalis) naturally infected with bronchopneumonia: a randomized clinical trial. Trop Anim Health Prod 49, 1723–1731 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11250-017-1383-8

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