Abstract
Intestinal stem cells are regulated through the Wnt/β‐catenin/Bone Morphogenic Pathway (BMP) signaling web. It is speculated that prebiotics replicate the activity of breastmilk oligosaccharides. We hypothesized that supplementation of prebiotics would align mRNA expression of genes in the Wnt and BMP pathways in piglet intestine with that seen in sow‐reared piglets. Piglets (n=5/group) were sow‐reared (SR) or fed formula without (F) or with (F+P) fructooligosaccharides (2 g/L) and polydextrose (2 g/L). Ileum and colon were collected at 7 and 14 days of age, and β‐catenin and frizzled 6 (Wnt pathway), gremlin (BMP pathway), TNF‐α and osteopontin (OPN) mRNA expression were measured by RT‐qPCR. In the d7 ileum, no differences were observed for any gene. On d14, OPN was higher (p<0.05) and gremlin was lower in SR piglets than in F or F+P. In the d7 colon, OPN expression was lower (p<0.05) and frizzled‐6 expression was higher (p<0.05) in the SR piglets than F or F+P. On d14, no differences were observed for any gene in the colon; however, OPN tended (p=0.08) to be greater in SR piglets. In summary, differences in the expression of frizzled‐6, gremlin and OPN, a regulator of cell proliferation and immune function, were observed between SR and formula‐fed piglets with no effect of supplemental 4 g/L scFOS and PDX. (BMS Freedom to Discover Award)
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