How disease challenge down-regulates growth potential: a cellular perspective

摘要

The commercial pork industry suffers considerable economic losses each year because of depressions in growth rate and efficiency of feed utilization stemming from metabolic changes caused by subclinical and clinical disease challenges. Additionally, our food animal industries are receiving ever-increasing scrutiny relative to animal welfare issues and usage of growth-promoting antibiotics. The potential for improved profitability and animal well being has thus led scientists in industry and academia to investigate the mechanisms by which clinical and subclinical disease challenges influence growth animal growth performance and well being. The following discussion is an overview of how immunological challenge suppresses growth in food animals.