The immune system is central to ensuring the consistency of the body's homeostasis. The state of the body's natural resistance is determined by a set of non-specific protective mechanisms. Lymphocytes and phagocytes are actively involved in maintaining immunity. Lymphocytes recognize the antigens of pathogenic microorganisms, and phagocytes absorb and destroy the pathogens themselves. During the weaning of piglets from sows there is a decrease in the protective forces of their body. During this period, the natural resistance of the piglets is reduced due to the stressful situation caused by changing conditions of confinement, the transition to full feed and lack of sows. The immune system of weaning pigs is relatively weak, so when exposed to environmental and technological stressors, they become susceptible to various diseases. The use of probiotic drugs stimulates the activity of the immune system, prevents stress and immunodeficiency. One of these probiotics is the probiotic of domestic production Protecto-active. It w observed the the influence of the probiotic Protecto-active on the indices of nonspecific resistance of the young pigs organism to the growth. An increase in bactericidal activity of blood serum by 12.10% (P <0.05) and lysozyme activity of blood in the piglets of the experimental group was increased by 3.71% compared to control, which indicates the activation of the body's defenses and the increase in adaptive capacity. An important step in the study of the influence of the probiotic Protekto-active on the state of the immune system is to determine the phagocytic activity of neutrophils, phagocytic index and phagocytic number. In the experimental group of piglets that were fed the probiotic Protecto-active, we found an increase in leukocyte phagocytic activity by 9.0% (P <0.001), a phagocytic index by 51.7% (P<0.001) and a phagocytic number by 24.8% ( P <0.01) compared with the control group. Thus, using a probiotic Protecto-active, all indicators of phagocytosis increase: the number of phagocytes increases, their ability to capture microorganisms and increases their digestive capacity, it increases the bacterial and lysozyme activity of blood serum, which is positively reflected in the immunobiosity. Key words: probiotic, phagocytosis, phagocytic index, phagocytic number, phagocytic activity of leukocytes, cellular immunity, piglets
The use of poly- and monoclonal antibodies to assess the state of the immune system
