Examination of the bovine leukocyte environment using immunogenetic biomarkers to assess immunocompetence following exposure to weaning stress

Table 4 Effect of weaning induced stress on the relative gene expression of IL-1ß, IL-2, IL-4, IL-8, IFN-γ, TNFα and lymphotoxin in weaned beef calves.

	Gender		Location		s.e.	Time				s.e.	P-Values
Variable	Male	Female	Near	Away		0	1	3	7		G	L	T	I
IL-1β	17.7	16.2	16.6	17.3	1.3	8.7	18.5^c	18.5^c	21.9^c	1.7	NS	NS	***	NS
IL-2	9.9	10.8	11.8	8.9	1.9	9.6	12.6	10.1	9.2	1.8	NS	NS	NS	*¹
IL-4	11.8	11.9	13.6	10.1	1.8	11.5	15.3	10.5	10.2	1.8	NS	NS	NS	NS
IL-8	7.1	11.5	8.9	9.7	1.3	5.6	12.9^c	9.2^a	9.7	1.8	*	NS	**	NS
IFN-γ	19.4	36.8	29.3	26.8	5.8	14.2	41.4^c	30.5^b	26.2^b	5.7	*	NS	***	*²
TNFα	3.0	3.7	3.5	3.3	0.22	2.4	3.8^c	3.4^b	3.8^c	0.29	*	NS	***	*³
Lymphotoxin	78.6	104.1	100.3	82.4	11.9	96.1	100.6	82.1	86.5	10.2	NS	NS	NS	NS

The values are expressed as least squares means (Lsmeans) and s.e.
G = gender, L = location, T = time, I = interaction, NS = not significant (P > 0.05). * = P < 0.05, ** = P < 0.01, *** = P < 0.001.
^{a, b, c}Within rows, Lsmeans differ from pre-weaning baseline by P < 0.05, P < 0.01 and P < 0.001, respectively.
¹Gender × Time interaction, 9.3 vs 9.8, 10.9 vs 14.4, 11.8 vs 8.4, 7.6 vs 10.8 for male and female calves at time 0, 1, 3 and 7, respectively.
²Gender × Time interaction, 9.0 vs 19.4, 22.2 vs 60.6, 26.7 vs 34.3, 19.6 vs 31.7 for male and female calves at time 0, 1, 3 and 7, respectively.
³Gender × Time interaction, 2.4 vs 2.4, 3.0 vs 4.6, 3.5 vs 3.2, 3.1 vs 4.4 for male and female calves at time 0, 1, 3 and 7, respectively.

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