Effects of dietary Hermetia illucens meal inclusion on cecal microbiota and small intestinal mucin dynamics and infiltration with immune cells of weaned piglets

Newborn piglets are prone to diarrhea after weaning as a result of changes in their environment and feed. Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) K88 strain is a typical pathogen that causes diarrhea in such stage of piglets. Hermetia illucens larvae are widely used in livestock and poultry production because of their high nutritional value and immunoregulatory effects. This study aimed to evaluate the protective effects of H. illucens feed in protecting against ETEC induced diarrhea in piglets and to unravel the mechanisms of immune modulation and intestinal barrier maintenance. The results showed that after ETEC infection, citric acid in the serum of the groups fed on H. illucens larvae increased significantly, which stimulated macrophages to secrete cytokines that promote B lymphocyte differentiation, ultimately increasing the production of IgA and IgG in serum. Concomitantly, citric acid also had a positive effect on the intestinal barrier damaged due to ETEC infection by inhibiting the production of inflammatory cytokines, reducing the Bcl-2/Bax ratio, and promoting the expression of tight junction proteins. Correlation analysis showed that the increase of citric acid levels might be related to Massilia. Thus, citric acid derived from H. illucens larvae can improve the immune performance of weaned piglets and reduce ETEC-induced damage to the intestinal barrier in weaned piglets.

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Effects of graded levels of xylo-oligosaccharides on growth performance, serum parameters, intestinal morphology and intestinal barrier function in weaned piglets

Journal of Animal Science ◽

10.1093/jas/skab183 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Yuxia Chen ◽

Yining Xie ◽

Ruqing Zhong ◽

Hui Han ◽

Lei Liu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Growth Performance ◽

Intestinal Barrier ◽

Intestinal Morphology ◽

Intestinal Barrier Function ◽

Weaned Piglets ◽

Villus Height ◽

Expression Levels ◽

Small Intestinal ◽

Dietary Treatments ◽

Mrna Expression Levels

Abstract The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of xylo-oligosaccharides (XOS) supplementation on growth performance, serum parameters, small intestinal morphology, intestinal mucosal integrity, and immune function in weaned piglets. A total of 240 weaned piglets with an average body weight (BW) of 8.82 ± 0.05 kg (28 d of age) were assigned randomly to 4 dietary treatments in a 28-d trial, including a control diet (CON), 3 diets with XOS supplementation at the concentration of 100, 500 and 1000 mg/kg (XOS100, XOS500, and XOS1000). There were 4 replicates per treatment with 15 pigs per pen. From d 1 to 14, there were no differences (P > 0.05) in average daily gain (ADG), average daily feed intake (ADFI), and gain to feed ratio (G:F) during the different treatments. The different doses of XOS showed a quadratic effect on BW on d 28, ADG and G:F d 1-28 of piglets (P < 0.05). From d 15 to 28, ADG of pigs fed the XOS500 diet was higher (P < 0.05) than pigs fed the CON diet. During the overall period (d 1 to 28), pigs fed the XOS500 diet had a higher BW, ADG and G:F than pigs fed the CON diet (P < 0.05). In addition, compared with the CON group, the XOS500 group had significantly higher serum total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC), total superoxide dismutase (T-SOD) and catalase (CAT) levels and lower malondialdehyde (MDA) levels on d 14 and 28 (P < 0.05). The serum immunoglobulin G (IgG) concentration in the XOS500 group was also significantly higher compared with the CON group on d 14 and 28 (P <0.05). However, serum immunoglobulin A (IgA) and immunoglobulin M (IgM) were not affected by the dietary treatments. Supplementation of XOS500 to the feed significantly increased the villus height (VH) and villus height to crypt depth ratio (VH:CD) in the jejunum and ileum in comparison with the CON and XOS1000 group. Moreover, the XOS500 group significantly elevated the expression levels of Occludin and zonula occludens protein-1 (ZO-1) in the ileum compared to the CON group. The ileal interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-8 and interferon (IFN)-γ mRNA expression levels in the XOS100 and XOS500 group were markedly lower than in the CON group. In contrast, the ileal IL-10 mRNA expression levels were remarkably higher in the XOS500 than CON group. In conclusion, xylo-oligosaccharides have a beneficial effect on growth performance by improving serum antioxidant defense system, serum IgG, small intestinal structure and intestinal barrier function in weaned piglets.

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Comparison of the Small Intestine of 0-day-old Neonatal Piglets vs. 21-day-old Weaned Piglets

10.21203/rs.3.rs-26152/v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Chen Yuan ◽

Yuxin Jin ◽

Abid Ullah Shah ◽

En Zhang ◽

penghao Zhang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Small Intestine ◽

Immune Cells ◽

Secretory Iga ◽

Secretory Cells ◽

Weaned Piglets ◽

Neonatal Piglets ◽

Weaned Piglet ◽

Small Intestines ◽

Mechanistic Basis

Abstract Background: Neonatal piglets are susceptible to intestinal infections . Gut is the body’s major immune structure and the intestinal mucosa, which is composed of intestinal epithelial cells (IELs) and subepithelial natural immune cells, is considered as the primary site for eliciting local immune responses to foreign antigens. This study compared the intestinal immune cells of neonatal and weaned piglets to provide a theoretical and mechanistic basis for preventing intestinal infectious diseases. Results: Histological analyses of weaned piglet intestines showed increased crypt depth, high IEL count, and increased areas of ileal Peyer’s patches. Additionally, the duodenal and ileal villi of weaned piglets were longer than those of neonatal piglets. Expression of claudin-3 protein in weaned piglets was remarkably high as compared with neonatal piglets. The number of CD3 + T cells, goblet cells, and secretory cells was high in the small intestines of weaned piglets in vivo. Contrarily, secretory IgA-positive cell numbers in the jejunum remained unchanged between neonatal and weaned piglets. Gene expression of 12 pattern recognition receptor (PRR) (TLR1–10, MDA5, and RIG-I) was examined in neonatal and weaned piglet small intestine (duodenum, jejunum , and ileum). The pattern of mRNA expression level of most PRR genes in the duodenum and jejunum was inverse of that in the ileum. Compared with weaned piglets, there were significantly fewer intestinal lymphocytes at birth in neonatal pigs. Conclusions: The physical, biochemical, and immune-related components of neonatal and weaned piglet small intestines were investigated to provide preliminary data on the pathogenetic mechanism for future studies.

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Dietary chitosan-Cu chelate affects growth performance and small intestinal morphology and apoptosis in weaned piglets.

Czech Journal of Animal Science ◽

10.17221/85/2015-cjas ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 62 (No. 1) ◽

pp. 15-21

Author(s):

X. Yue ◽

L. Hu ◽

X. Fu ◽

M. Lv ◽

X. Han

Keyword(s):

Epithelial Cell ◽

Growth Performance ◽

Cell Apoptosis ◽

Intestinal Morphology ◽

Weaned Piglets ◽

Villus Height ◽

Crypt Depth ◽

Epithelial Cell Apoptosis ◽

Diarrhea Incidence ◽

Small Intestinal

The effects of dietary chitosan-copper chelate (CS-Cu) on growth performance, diarrhea, intestinal morphology and epithelial cell apoptosis in weaned piglets was investigated. One hundred and sixty Duroc × Landrace × Yorkshire weanling barrows with an average body weight of 7.75 kg were randomly assigned to one of the following dietary treatments: (1) control, (2) 100 mg Cu/kg diet from CuSO4, (3) 100 mg Cu/kg diet from CuSO4 mixed with chitosan (CuSO4+CS), (4) 100 mg Cu/kg diet from CS-Cu. The feeding trial lasted for 30 days. The results showed that the pigs receiving a diet containing CS-Cu had higher average daily gain and lower diarrhea incidence than the pigs receiving dietary CuSO4 and CuSO4+CS. Villus height and the ratio of villus height/crypt depth in duodenum, jejunum, and ileum were higher and crypt depth was lower in CS-Cu treated pigs than in pigs fed dietary CuSO4 or CuSO4+CS. An apparent decrease of ileal epithelial cell apoptosis in pigs fed CS-Cu diet was found. The activities of antioxidant enzymes were higher in pigs fed dietary CS-Cu than in those fed other diets. The results indicated that dietary CS-Cu showed better biological and physiological function in improving small intestinal morphology and reducing diarrhea incidence.

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Dietary l-Tryptophan Supplementation Enhances the Intestinal Mucosal Barrier Function in Weaned Piglets: Implication of Tryptophan-Metabolizing Microbiota

International Journal of Molecular Sciences ◽

10.3390/ijms20010020 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 20 (1) ◽

pp. 20 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

Haiwei Liang ◽

Zhaolai Dai ◽

Jiao Kou ◽

Kaiji Sun ◽

Jingqing Chen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Tight Junction ◽

Mucosal Barrier ◽

Mrna Levels ◽

Dependent Manner ◽

Tight Junction Proteins ◽

Weaned Piglets ◽

Intestinal Mucosal Barrier ◽

Mucosal Barrier Function ◽

Small Intestinal ◽

Junction Proteins

l-Tryptophan (Trp) is known to play an important role in the health of the large intestine. However, a role of dietary Trp in the small-intestinal mucosal barrier and microbiota remains poorly understood. The present study was conducted with weaned piglets to address this issue. Postweaning piglets were fed for 4 weeks a corn- and soybean meal-based diet supplemented with 0 (Control), 0.1, 0.2, or 0.4% Trp. The small-intestinal microbiota and serum amino acids were analyzed by bacterial 16S rRNA gene-based high-throughput sequencing methods and high-performance liquid chromatography, respectively. The mRNA levels for genes involved in host defense and the abundances of tight-junction proteins in jejunum and duodenum were measured by real time-PCR and Western blot techniques, respectively. The concentrations of Trp in the serum of Trp-supplemented piglets increased in a dose-dependent manner. Compared with the control group, dietary supplementation with 0.2–0.4% Trp reduced the abundances of Clostridium sensu stricto and Streptococcus in the jejunum, increased the abundances of Lactobacillus and Clostridium XI (two species of bacteria that can metabolize Trp) in the jejunum, and augmented the concentrations of secretory immunoglobulin A (sIgA) as well as mRNA levels for porcine β-defensins 2 and 3 in jejunal tissues. Moreover, dietary Trp supplementation activated the mammalian target of rapamycin signaling and increased the abundances of tight-junction proteins (zonula occludens (ZO)-1, ZO-3, and claudin-1) in jejunum and duodenum. We suggested that Trp-metabolizing bacteria in the small intestine of weaned pigs primarily mediated the beneficial effects of dietary Trp on its mucosal integrity, health, and function.

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The Effect of Dietary Quercetin on the Glutathione Redox System and Small Intestinal Functionality of Weaned Piglets

Antioxidants ◽

10.3390/antiox8080312 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 8 (8) ◽

pp. 312 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Jeroen Degroote ◽

Hans Vergauwen ◽

Noémie Van Noten ◽

Wei Wang ◽

Stefaan De Smet ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Glutathione Transferase ◽

Basal Diet ◽

Redox System ◽

Mucosal Damage ◽

Redox Status ◽

Nuclear Antigen ◽

Small Intestinal Mucosa ◽

Weaned Piglets ◽

Glutamate Cysteine Ligase ◽

Small Intestinal

Quercetin has been shown to alleviate mucosal damage and modulate the glutathione (GSH) redox system in the colon of rodents. In the current study, we assessed whether quercetin was able to mitigate small intestinal dysfunction in weaned pigs. Here, 224 weaned piglets were fed a diet containing quercetin at either 0, 100, 300, or 900 mg/kg diet until d14 post-weaning, followed by a common basal diet until d42. Eight animals per treatment were sampled at d5 and d14 post-weaning. In these animals, the small intestinal histomorphology, barrier function, and protein abundance of occludin, caspase-3, and proliferating cell nuclear antigen were assessed. None of these parameters were affected, and neither did quercetin improve performance up to d42 post-weaning. The GSH redox system was evaluated in blood, small intestinal mucosa, and liver. Quercetin did not affect the glutathione peroxidase, glutathione reductase, and glutamate–cysteine ligase activity in these tissues. In contrast, the hepatic glutathione transferase (GST) activity was significantly increased by quercetin supplementation at d5 post-weaning of 100, 300, and 900 mg/kg. Importantly, d5 was characterized by a more oxidized GSH redox status. To conclude, dietary quercetin had little effect on the small intestine, but did upregulate hepatic GST in the occurrence of redox disturbance.

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Structural analysis of broiler chicken small intestinal mucin O-glycan modification by Clostridium perfringens

Poultry Science ◽

10.3382/ps/pez297 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 98 (10) ◽

pp. 5074-5088 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Jaclyn L MacMillan ◽

Sara D Vicaretti ◽

Benjamin Noyovitz ◽

Xiaohui Xing ◽

Kristin E Low ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Structural Analysis ◽

Clostridium Perfringens ◽

Broiler Chicken ◽

Intestinal Mucin ◽

Small Intestinal ◽

Glycan Modification

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Small intestinal segment perfusion test in piglets: future applications in studying probiotics-gut crosstalk in infectious diarrhoea?

Beneficial Microbes ◽

10.3920/bm2010.0025 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 1 (4) ◽

pp. 439-445 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

J. van der Meulen ◽

M. Hulst ◽

M. Smits ◽

T. Schuurman

Keyword(s):

Physiological Response ◽

Enterotoxigenic Escherichia Coli ◽

Weaned Piglets ◽

Infectious Diarrhoea ◽

Secretory Diarrhoea ◽

Prevention And Treatment ◽

Small Intestinal ◽

Traveller’S Diarrhoea ◽

Intestinal Compartments

Worldwide infectious diarrhoea, mainly caused by rotavirus and enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC), accounts for a large part of deaths in children. ETEC is also the main cause of traveller's diarrhoea. Probiotics are promising for prevention and treatment of diarrhoea, but there is insufficient evidence to support the use of any specific probiotic or probiotics in general. Because of the sensitivity of suckling and weaned piglets for ETEC, piglets are a good model for infectious diarrhoea in infants and traveller's diarrhoea. Just as in human the efficacy of probiotics in diminishing diarrhoea and improving growth in suckling and weaned piglets is not uniform. A piglet model of infectious diarrhoea provides access to intestinal compartments that are not easily accessible in infants. In an in situ piglet model of secretory diarrhoea, the functional physiological response to ETEC and the concomitant host genome response to ETEC and probiotics may be tested. This will provide new insights in the complex crosstalk between ETEC, probiotics and the gut in the future.

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