Table 4. Effects of feeding Bt MON 810 maize to nulliparous sows during gestation and lactation on peripheral blood immune cell populations^1,2.

	Treatments
	Non-Bt control	Bt	SEM3	P – value
WBC 4
d 28 of gestation	42.1	40.5	3.88	0.84
d 110 of gestation	57.1	50.4	3.04	0.28
d 28 of lactation	46.0	52.3	3.07	0.31
Overall	48.4	47.7	3.79	0.90
B lymphocytes
d 28 of gestation	2.8	2.0	0.47	0.42
d 110 of gestation	4.4	4.0	0.35	0.53
d 28 of lactation	3.4	2.9	0.36	0.54
Overall	3.5	3.0	0.36	0.29
Monocytes
d 28 of gestation	9.1	6.8	1.25	0.37
d 110 of gestation	13.5	15.8	0.95	0.25
d 28 of lactation	19.1	13.5	0.95	0.01
Overall	13.9	12.1	0.94	0.17
CD3+ T lymphocytes
d 28 of gestation	51.8	52.0	2.44	0.97
d 110 of gestation	60.6	63.1	1.86	0.52
d 28 of lactation	58.1	60.5	1.83	0.53
Overall	56.8	58.5	1.97	0.57
CD4+ T lymphocytes
d 28 of gestation	7.3	7.4	1.89	0.99
d 110 of gestation	21.9	22.5	1.33	0.82
d 28 of lactation	22.3	19.3	1.35	0.28
Overall	17.2	16.4	1.44	0.70
CD8+ T lymphocytes
d 28 of gestation	38.4	40.0	1.91	0.68
d 110 of gestation	36.1	40.7	1.36	0.11
d 28 of lactation	22.2	24.9	1.38	0.33
Overall	32.2	35.2	1.59	0.20
CD4+CD8+ T lymphocytes
d 28 of gestation	12.9	11.5	1.45	0.56
d 110 of gestation	19.5	15.0	1.15	0.01
d 28 of lactation	19.3	15.4	1.15	0.03
Overall	17.2	14.0	1.17	0.02

¹Sows were fed either a non-Bt control or a Bt maize-based diet (n  = 12/treatment).

²Values are given as percentages of the total peripheral blood mononuclear cell population for all parameters, except the CD4⁺ CD8⁺ and CD4⁺CD8⁺ lymphocytes which are given as percentages of the CD3⁺ lymphocytes.

³SEM – standard error of the mean.

⁴WBC – white blood cells.