Variation in innate immune responses to porcine epidemic diarrhea virus infection in piglets at different ages

Porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) poses a significant threat to pigs, with piglets under seven days old facing a mortality rate of up to 100%. This study aimed to explore the maturation of the immune system in piglets across different age groups and their corresponding immune responses to PEDV infection. Real-time quantitative PCR was employed to assess the relative mRNA expression of inflammation-related factors in infected pigs compared to non-infected counterparts at varying ages. Additionally, flow cytometry was utilized to analyze the relative counts of CD4