Effect of Acute Feeding of Diets of Varying Fatty Acid Composition on Intestinal Apolipoprotein Expression in the Newborn Swine

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of dietary fatty acids of varying chain lengths and degrees of saturation on intestinal apolipoprotein (apo) B and A-I expression in the newborn piglet. Two-day-old female piglets received one of three isocaloric formulas containing 48% of total calories (120 kcal/kg/24 h) as medium-chain triglycerides (MCT) from MCT oil, intermediate-chain saturated triglycerides (ICST) from coconut oil, or long-chain polyunsaturated triglycerides (LCPUT) from safflower oil by continuous duodenal infusion for 24 h. After in situ radiolabeling, jejunal and ileal mucosal apo B-48 and A-I were immunoprecipitated, and synthesis was expressed as percentage of total protein synthesis. Mucosal apo B and A-I mass was measured by ELISA as nanograms of apoprotein/microgram of total protein. Fifty percent less apo B jejunal synthesis was present in the ICST group versus the MCT and LCPUT groups (0.67 +/- 0.07, 1.19 +/- 0.20, and 1.25 +/- 0.15, respectively, mean +/- SEM, p < 0.05). Jejunal apo B mass was lower in the MCT group versus the ICST and LCPUT groups (0.10 +/- 0.02, 0.21 +/- 0.03, and 0.16 +/- 0.03, respectively, p < 0.05). Ileal apo B synthesis was lowest in the ICST group. No differences were found in ileal apo B mass. Two-fold higher jejunal apo A-I synthesis was found in the LCPUT group versus the MCT and ICST groups (14.18 +/- 1.69, 7.56 +/- 2.63, and 6.36 +/- 0.58, respectively, p < 0.01). No differences were found for jejunal apo A-I mass. In the ileum, the only difference was a higher apo A-I mass in the LCPUT group (p < 0.05). We conclude that in the newborn piglet intestinal apo B and A-I expression is acutely and differentially regulated by dietary lipid varying in fatty acid chain length and saturation. The patterns of regulation are complex and vary among specific apolipoproteins and regions of the small intestine and include co- and posttranslational mechanisms.