Abstract
Simple SummaryIntrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) is a significant health issue that not only affects infant mortality or term body weight, but may also predispose individuals to a reduced rate of weight gain and the development of numerous diseases later in life. In livestock production, growth restricted (IUGR) animals require more time to reach slaughter weight. In this study, we examined the effects of long-term administration of 2-oxoglutaric acid (2-Ox) to experimentally-induced intrauterine growth retarded gilts.In this study, the effect of long-term 2-oxoglutaric acid (2-Ox) supplementation to experimentally-induced intrauterine growth retarded gilts was examined. Sows were treated with synthetic glucocorticoid (dexamethasone) every second day, during the last 45 days of pregnancy, at a dose of 0.03 mg/kg b.w. At birth, the gilts were randomly divided into two groups: unsupplemented and supplemented with 2-Ox for nine months (0.4 g/kg body weight/day). Oral supplementation of 2-Ox to experimentally-induced intrauterine growth retarded gilts increased body weight at weaning as well as final body weight at the age of nine months, and showed a regenerative effect on bone mineralization and morphology of trabeculae and articular cartilage. The positive effects on bone structure were attributed to the 2-Ox-induced alterations in bone metabolism, as evidenced by the changes in the expression of proteins involved in bone formation and remodeling: osteocalcin (OC), osteoprotegerin (OPG), receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa-Β ligand (RANKL), tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases 2 (TIMP-2), bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP-2), cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP), and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF).
Highlights
Fetal growth and development involves complex biological processes dependent on a variety of genetic and epigenetic factors
The final body weight at the age of nine months was significantly lower in the control group than in the 2-oxoglutaric acid (2-Ox) group (43.6 ± 6.7 kg and 57.2 ± 5.8 kg in the control and the 2-Ox group, respectively; p < 0.01) (Figure 2)
Despite this increase in body weight, adult growth-retarded boars supplemented with 2-Ox weighed about twofold less at the age of nine months compared with control animals and those in the livestock industry
Summary
Fetal growth and development involves complex biological processes dependent on a variety of genetic and epigenetic factors. The effects of these epigenetic factors on cellular and physiological phenotypic traits may result from external or environmental factors (stress of being pregnant, infections), or they may be part of normal development. Changes in fetal nutrition and endocrine status can in turn affect adaptive developmental, structural, physiological, and metabolic functions, as well as inhibit postnatal growth. The above mentioned changes can lead to intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR), which results in piglets with significantly lower body weights [1,2,3,4,5]. Growth-retarded newborns can reach the same size (body weight) during postnatal development as piglets that were not growth retarded [12]
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