Abstract

Sericea Lespedeza (SL), is a high-quality, low input forage that suppresses gastro-intestinal parasites in goats. The effect of dietary SL on the expression of genes involved in innate immunity in goats has not been established. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of a diet containing SL on the expression of genes involved in innate immunity in goat blood. Blood was collected by jugular venipuncture from goats fed a diet of 75% SL (n = 9) and a control group (n = 7), fed a SL free diet. Blood was used to evaluate expression of (CD-14, TLR-2, TLR-4, IL-10, IL-8, IL-2, INF-r, and TNF-a). Serum was extracted and used for evaluation of the secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNF-a, IFNr, granulocyte colony stimulating factor (GCSF), granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GMCSF), IL-1a, IL-8, IP-10 and RANTES) using a commercial ELISA kit. The level of gene expression of CD-14, TLR-2, TLR-4, IL-10, IL-8, IL-2, INF-r, and TNF-a was higher in treated animals compared to control. The Sericea Lespedeza diet affected the secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines by increasing the serum levels of TNF-a, IFNr, GCSF, GMCSF, IL-1a, IP-10 (P < 0.0002), and by decreasing (P < 0.0001) IL-8 and RANTES in blood from goats fed SL. This suggests that dietary tannins modulate gene expression and may affect the goat's innate immune response in blood. Further research is needed to understand and harness the effect of dietary condensed tannins to modulate innate immunity in goats.

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