Abstract
Background: Pantothenic acid deficiency (PAD) results in growth depression and intestinal hypofunction of animals. However, the underlying mechanisms remain to be established. Mucosal proteome might reflect dietary influences on physiological processes.Results: A total of 128 one-day-old Pekin ducks were divided into two groups, with 8 replicates and 8 birds per replicate. All the ducks were fed either a PAD or a pantothenic acid adequate (control, CON) diet. After a 16-day feeding period, two ducks from each replicate were sampled to measure plasma parameters, intestinal morphology, and mucosal proteome. High mortality, growth retardation, fasting hypoglycemia, reduced plasma insulin, and oxidative stress were observed in the PAD group compared to the CON group. Furthermore, PAD induced morphological alterations of the small intestine indicated by reduced villus height and villus surface area of duodenum, jejunum, and ileum. The duodenum mucosal proteome of ducks showed that 198 proteins were upregulated and 223 proteins were downregulated (> 1.5-fold change) in the PAD group compared to those in the CON group. Selected proteins were confirmed by Western blotting. Pathway analysis of these proteins exhibited the suppression of glycolysis and gluconeogenesis, fatty acid beta oxidation, tricarboxylic acid cycle, oxidative phosphorylation, oxidative stress, and intestinal absorption in the PAD group, indicating impaired energy generation and abnormal intestinal absorption. We also show that nine out of eleven proteins involved in regulation of actin cytoskeleton were upregulated by PAD, probably indicates reduced intestinal integrity.Conclusion: PAD leads to growth depression and intestinal hypofunction of ducks, which are associated with impaired energy generation, abnormal intestinal absorption, and regulation of actin cytoskeleton processes. These findings provide insights into the mechanisms of intestinal mucosa metabolic disorders due to PAD.
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