Abstract
Simple SummaryBirth weight and nutrient utilization are thought to have significant effects on intestinal development in neonatal pigs. The present study evaluated the impact of low and normal birth weight with and without nutrient restriction during the neonatal period on jejunal development. The results observed suggest that during the first 28 d of life, birth weight had greater effects on intestinal development than nutrient level, however, at d 56, the nutrient level was a significant contributor to intestinal function and enzyme activity compared to birth weight. Taken together, both birth weight and nutrient restriction have effects on intestinal development, but may have a greater impact in early life (d 28).Significant variation in the birth weight of piglets has arisen due to increased sow prolificacy. Intestinal development and function may be affected by birth weight. Low birth weight (LBW) pigs may also have reduced feed intake, leading to further impairment of intestinal development. The objective of this study was to examine the intestinal development pattern of LBW and normal birth weight (NBW) piglets with normal nutrition (NN) or restricted nutrition (RN) in the pre-weaning period. Jejunal intestinal samples were analyzed for target gene expression and enzyme activity at d 28 (weaning) and d 56 (post-weaning). At d 28, excitatory amino acid transporter (EAAC1) and sodium-dependent neutral amino acid transporter (B0AT1) were downregulated in LBW compared to NBW pigs (p < 0.05). On d 56, B0AT1 and ASCT2 (glutamine transporter) were downregulated in RN compared to NN pigs (p < 0.05), regardless of birth weight. Peptide transporter 1 (PepT1) expression was downregulated in LBW compared to NBW pigs at 28 d (p < 0.05), with no effects of treatments at 56 d. Sodium-glucose transporter-1 (SGLT1) was upregulated in NBW-NN compared to LBW-NN pigs (p < 0.05) at 28 d. Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) was upregulated in LBW-RN at d 28. At d 56, claudin-3 (CLDN-3) and Zonular occludin-1 (ZO-1) were upregulated in NN compared to RN pigs (p < 0.05). There were no treatment effects on ALP, maltase, or sucrase activity at 28 d. However, at 56 d, ALP was upregulated in NBW-NN pigs while sucrase activity was upregulated in NN pigs (p < 0.05). The results demonstrate differences in jejunal gene expression associated with birth weight, with reduced gene expression of amino acid transporters (PepT1, EAAC1, B0AT1) in LBW compared to NBW pigs (p < 0.05). While neonatal nutrient restriction had minimal effects at 28 d and d 56 for tight junction protein transcript abundance, neutral amino acid transporter abundance was upregulated in NN pigs compared to RN piglets (p < 0.05).
Highlights
There is significant variation in the birth weight of piglets within the same litter, which is primarily related to an increase in sow prolificacy [1,2]
On d 56, there was an interaction between birth weight and nutrient restriction, with the normal birth weight (NBW)-NN group having greater Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity compared to the other treatments (p < 0.05)
Since the adult pattern of distribution of brush-border carbohydrases is achieved around 8 weeks [27], our findings indicate a better adaptation of NBW-NN pigs to the weaning transition from milk- to cereal-based diet and highlight that neonatal nutrient restriction may play an important role in this establishment
Summary
There is significant variation in the birth weight of piglets within the same litter, which is primarily related to an increase in sow prolificacy (i.e., increased litter size) [1,2]. The survival and development of neonatal piglets are associated with birth weight [3,4], with piglets born at low birth weight (LBW) at higher risk of poor growth and development, including inadequate intestinal development and function. It has been shown that the maturation of digestive function was delayed in LBW pigs, regardless of the stress associated with weaning transition [6]. In addition to their small size, LBW piglets may have reduced access to nutrition in the pre-weaning period due to competition with larger littermates [7,8], potentially exacerbating the negative effects of LBW on intestinal function, as sufficient nutrient intake is critical for intestinal development [9]. While the development of neonatal pigs has been widely studied, the independent and interactive effects of birth weight and nutrient restriction on intestinal development are not well known
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