Abstract
Emerging data indicate that excessive short chain fatty acids can mediate the downstream mitogen-activated protein kinase pathways by activating G-protein coupled receptor 41/43 (GPR41/43) to initiate the inflammatory response. The current study was conducted to investigate if a high concentrate (HC) supplemented with sodium butyrate can alleviate the inflammation and if an epigenetic mechanism is involved in regulating the expression of the key GPR41/43 genes in the cecum. Twelve lactating goats were randomly divided into two groups: the control group fed the HC diet and the treatment group fed the HC diet supplemented with sodium butyrate (HCB). Our results suggested that the supplementation of sodium butyrate significantly increased the pH value in the rumen and cecum, downregulated the expression of GPR41/43 and related inflammatory cytokines, upregulated the expression of tight junction proteins, and reduced the protein expression levels of GPR 41/43, ERK1/2, and p38. Moreover, the ratios of DNA methylation and chromatin compaction in the promoter region of the GPR41/43 genes were altered due to the addition of sodium butyrate. In brief, dietary addition of sodium butyrate can reduce the inflammatory injury to the cecal mucosa in lactating goats and can affect the expression of GPR41/43 via epigenetic modification.
Highlights
The cecum is an important fermentation organ in ruminants, including goats and cattle
Sodium butyrate addition significantly increased the pH value in the cecum of lactating goats in the HC diet supplemented with sodium butyrate (HCB) group compared with the high concentrate (HC) group (P < 0.05)
Consistent with previous study, showed that HCB diet feeding increased the rumen and cecum pH values and cecum short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) concentration compared with HC diet feeding, these results indicated that sodium butyrate addition improved gastrointestinal environment and microbial fermentation (Myers et al, 1967; Li et al, 2010, 2012)
Summary
The cecum is an important fermentation organ in ruminants, including goats and cattle. Most of the chyme that has not been fermented completely in the rumen is fermented to produce final metabolites, such as short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), in the cecum and other areas of the hindgut, and SCFAs are absorbed and utilized in the cecum (Faichney, 1968; Li et al, 2012). Some studies have reported that increasing the proportion of concentrate in the diet can improve the digestibility of diet, thereby produce a large amount of SCFAs in rumen and intestinal tract (Brink and Steele, 1985; Flachowsky and Schneider, 1992). SCFAs mainly include acetic acid, propionic acid, butyric acid, and other fatty acids with fewer than six carbon atoms in the carbon chain (Morrison and Preston, 2016). GPRs are transmembrane receptors that can be identified by SCFAs, and GPRs, with a Sodium Butyrate Modulates Mucosal Inflammation
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