The objective of this study was to determine the effect of orally administered Enterococcus faecium EF1 on intestinal cytokines and chemokines production in piglets. Twenty-four newborn piglets were randomly divided into two groups. The treatment group (T₁), orally administered sterilized (110 ºC for 30 min) skim milk 10% (2 ml/piglet/day) with addition of viable E. faecium EF1 (5~6×10⁸ cfu/ml) on 1^st, 3^rd and 5^th day after birth. The control group (T₀), were fed the same volume of sterilized skim milk without addition of probiotics. Feeding trial was conducted for 25 days of suckling age. At the end of trail six piglets were randomly selected from each group to collect the samples of jejunum and ileum mucosa to observe the cytokines and chemokines production. The results showed that concentrations of IL-10 and TGF-β1 significantly increased in T₁ group. Whereas, production of IL-1β, IL-6, IL-12, IFN-γ and IL-8 decreased in T₁ compared to T₀. Levels of TNF-α were increased in jejunal mucosa, while decreased in ileal mucosa comparatively in T₁ group. Our findings revealed that oral administration of E. faecium EF1 induced a strong anti-inflammatory response in the small intestine. These immunomodulatory effects of this bacterium might contribute to maintenance of immune homeostasis in the intestine of piglets.

Key words: Chemokine, Cytokine, Enterococcus faecium, Intestinal mucosa