Innate immune response of blood neutrophils in Iberian pigs under different production systems

Ninety Iberian pigs were grouped into three production systems commonly used in southwest Europe: Montanera (free-range and feeding on natural resources, mainly acorns and grass), Intensive (in confinement and fed commercial feed), and Recebo (similar to the Montanera system, but fed commercial feed in the final fattening stage). The aim of the present work was to determine and compare the phagocytic function of blood neutrophils from Iberian pigs in these production systems. We measured the phagocytic function of neutrophils (as measured by chemotaxis, phagocytosis and microbicidal capacity) from pigs at the beginning and end of fattening, in the different experimental groups. Neutrophils from Montanera animals were more active than those from the other production systems, especially those from the Intensive production group.