Leptin concentrations and the immune-mediated reduction of feed intake in sheep infected with the nematode Trichostrongylus colubriformis.

The hypothesis that increases in the concentration of the anorectic peptide leptin may be responsible for the immune-mediated reduction in feed intake (FI) during gastrointestinal parasitism in sheep was investigated. In a 2 x 2 x 2 factorial design, the first factor was age at the start of infection (5 months old v. 17 months old). The second factor was parasite infection (no infection v. administration of eighty L3 infective Trichostrongylus colubrifonmis larvae/kg live weight (LW) per d three times per week for 77 d). The third factor was immunosuppressive therapy with a corticosteroid (no therapy or weekly intramuscular injection of 40 mg methylprednisolone acetate/30 kg LW). Relative to their uninfected counterparts, a 20% reduction in FI per unit LW (FI/LW; g DM/kg LW) was observed in infected non-suppressed 5-month-old lambs front 21 to 63 d post-infection (P<0.001) but not in comparable 17-month-old ewes or in corticosteroid-treated lambs or ewes (P>0.05 for all), allowing the suggestion that the anorexia was a consequence of the developing immune response. The reduction in FI/LW in 5-month-old lambs was not associated with an increase in plasma leptin concentration. Furthermore, plasma leptin concentrations were greater in corticosteroid-treated animals (P<0-001) and in 17-month-old animals (P<0.001), none of which displayed an infection-induced reduction in FI/LW. Plasma leptin was positively correlated with carcass fat percentage in both 5-month-old (P=0.016) and 17-month-old (P<0.001) animals and did not appear to provide a direct feedback mechanism that restricted energy intake. The results do not support the hypothesis that an increase in circulating leptin is directly responsible for the immune-mediated anorexia in lambs during T colubriformis infection.