Mitogen Stimulation of Lymphocytes in Pigs with Hereditary Vitamin C Deficiency

Recently an inherited vitamin G deficiency in the pigs presumably based on an autosomal recessive gene was decribed* Homozygotes are in contrast to heterozygotes and normal pigs unable to synthesize ascorbic acid. In an experiment comprising 3 littermate pigs, 2 homozygous and 1 heterozygous for the vitamin C deficiency gene, the influence of ascorbic acid depletion, and repletion on mitogen stimulation of peripheral blood lymphocytes was studied. Ascorbic acid depletion of the vitamin C dependent pigs resulted in a rapid decline in plasma ascorbic acid. Response of lymphocytes to stimular tion with Concanavalin A (Con A) and phytohemagglutinin M (PHA) decreased more slowly reaching a minimum, which coincidedi with the occurrence of the first clinical symptoms of scurvy. Following resupplementation with vitamin C the plasma content of ascorbic acid rapidly returned to normal, while the lymphocyte response to Con A and PHA stimulation only gradually approached the initial values. The repletion with ascorbic acid caused a transitory increase in the response to pokeweed mitogen (PWM) stimulation. The significance of these findings in relation to the cellular immune system in normal pigs is discussed.