Gene expression profile changes in the jejunum of weaned piglets after oral administration of Lactobacillus or an antibiotic

Dongyan Zhang,Tingting Shang,Haifeng Ji,Yan Huang,Yamin Wang,Rijun Zhang,Hui Liu,Sixin Wang,Jing Wang

doi:10.1038/s41598-017-16158-y

Abstract

The small intestine plays an essential role in the health and well-being of animals. Previous studies have shown that Lactobacillus has a protective effect on intestinal morphology, intestinal epithelium integrity and appropriate maturation of gut-associated tissues. Here, gene expression in jejunum tissue of weaned piglets was investigated by RNA-seq analysis after administration of sterile saline, Lactobacillus reuteri, or an antibiotic (chlortetracycline). In total, 401 and 293 genes were significantly regulated by chlortetracycline and L. reuteri, respectively, compared with control treatment. Notably, the HP, NOX1 and GPX2 genes were significantly up-regulated in the L. reuteri group compared with control, which is related to the antioxidant ability of this strain. In addition, the expression of genes related to arachidonic acid metabolism and linoleic acid metabolism enriched after treatment with L. reuteri. The fatty acid composition in the jejunum and colon was examined by GC-MS analysis and suggested that the MUFA C18:1n9c, and PUFAs C18:2n6c and C20:4n6 were increased in the L. reuteri group, verifying the GO enrichment and KEGG pathway analyses of the RNA-seq results. The results contribute to our understanding of the probiotic activity of this strain and its application in pig production.

Highlights

The intestines have various functions such as the absorption of nutrients, the absorption and secretion of electrolytes and water, and the secretion of mucin and immunoglobulins, and they provide a selective barrier against harmful antigens and pathogens[1]
Our study showed that aldo-keto reductase family 1 member C1 (AKR1C1) was up-regulated, SCGB1A1 was down-regulated, and CCL22 and S100 calcium binding protein A9 (S100A9) were moderately regulated in the L. reuteri group
Our current study showed that seven categories of SFAs in the jejunum and four in the colon were significantly decreased and that UFAs, such as monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) C18:1n9c, Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) C18:2n6c, C18:3n3 and C20:4n6, were significantly increased in the L. reuteri group compared with the control group, these results were consistent with the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) results, in which FABP3, FABP1 and fatty acid desaturase 3 (FADS3) were up-regulated in the L. reuteri group, and with the Gene ontology (GO) enrichment and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analyses, which identified linoleic acid metabolism and arachidonic acid metabolism as significantly increased in the L. reuteri group

Summary

Introduction

The intestines have various functions such as the absorption of nutrients, the absorption and secretion of electrolytes and water, and the secretion of mucin and immunoglobulins, and they provide a selective barrier against harmful antigens and pathogens[1]. Piglets must cope with abrupt separation from their mother, a new environment, and a switch from a highly digestible (liquid) milk diet to a less-digestible, more complex, chemically composed solid feed This process can potentially cause damage to intestinal tissue, resulting in changes in the villus and crypt architecture, and depress the activity of many brush-border digestive enzymes[2]. With the development of advanced molecular genetics technologies including next-generation sequencing and bioinformatics, transcriptome sequencing (RNA-seq) provides a convenient platform for measuring large-scale gene expression patterns in organisms. Studies exploring gene expression in the small intestinal segment in relation to Lactobacillus and antibiotic treatments have not been conducted. RNA-seq gene expression profiling was conducted on weaned piglets that received one of the following treatments: Lactobacillus reuteri, chlortetracycline (an antibiotic), or sterile saline (control). The current study should help advance our understanding of Lactobacillus and intestinal health and provide basic data for future studies in this area

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion