An in vivo tissue chamber model was developed to enable studies of local cytokine production and cellular events during inflammatory and immune reactions in the pig. Tissue chambers made of sialistic rubber tubing were surgically implanted in the subcutaneous tissue- and samples of tissue chamber fluid (TCF) and inflammatory cells were collected by aspiration with a syringe. To evaluate the model for local cytokine production, two cytokine inducers, polyribinosinic-polyribocytidylic acid (poly I:C) and fixed Aujeszky's disease virus infected PK15 cells (ADV-PK15), were injected into the tissue chambers and samples of TCF were collected 0, 4, 8, 12, 24 and 48 h post injection. Poly I:C injections induced local production of interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha) as well as tumor necrosis factor (TNF) in the TCF but kinetic differences in the production of the cytokines were noted. Poly I:C also induced an increase in cell numbers in the TCF, mainly due to increased neutrophil numbers. Injections of ADV-PK15 induced local IFN-alpha production in the TCF as long as the pigs were serologically negative to ADV. Immunofluorescence and in situ hybridization techniques could be applied for characterization of TCF cells. Moreover, cells recovered from the tissue chambers were viable and could be used in functional in vitro tests. Taken together, this tissue chamber model could prove very useful in in vivo studies of inflammatory/immune responses and cytokine production in the pig.