Abstract
A total of 64 pregnant Bama mini-pigs were used to investigate the effects of maternal probiotic or synbiotic supplementation during gestation and lactation on immune response, intestinal morphology, and microbiota community of offspring piglets. The sows were assigned randomly to one of four groups, control group (basal diet), antibiotic group (basal diet supplemented with 50 g/t virginiamycin), probiotic group (basal diet supplemented with 200 mL/d probiotic fermentation broth per pig), or synbiotic group (basal diet supplemented with 200 mL/d probiotic fermentation broth per pig + 500 g/t xylo-oligosaccharides) during pregnancy and lactation periods. After weaning, two piglets close to the average body weight (BW) per litter were selected and fed a basal diet. Eight piglets with similar BW were selected from each group for sample collection at 65 d-old. The results showed that plasma interleukin (IL)-2 and lipopolysaccharide concentrations were decreased (P < 0.05) in the probiotic group, while the immunoglobulin A (IgA) concentration in the probiotic and synbiotic groups was increased (P < 0.05), when compared with the control group. The jejunal IL-10, interferon-α, and secretory IgA (sIgA) concentrations were increased (P < 0.05) in the probiotic and synbiotic groups, as well as the ileal sIgA concentration in the probiotic group. The jejunal villus height (VH) and the ratio of VH to crypt depth were increased (P < 0.05) in the probiotic group, as well as the ileal VH in the synbiotic group. Furthermore, the piglets from the antibiotic group exhibited a lower microbiota diversity in the jejunum and ileum. The piglets from the synbiotic group had higher relative abundances of Actinobacteria, Bifidobacterium, Turicibacter, and Clostridium in the jejunum compared with the antibiotic group. Dietary probiotic treatment increased (P < 0.05) the relative abundance of Psychrobacter in the ileum compared with the antibiotic and control groups. Spearman's correlation analysis revealed that the relative abundances of Bifidobacterium, Clostridium, and Blautia in the jejunum and Psychrobacter in the ileum, were positively correlated with the alterations of immunoglobulin and cytokines. Collectively, these findings suggest that maternal interventions with probiotic or synbiotic are promising strategies for improving the immune response of offspring piglets by altering the gut microbiota.
Highlights
The gut microbiota exerts important roles in gut function, host metabolism, immune development, and cell proliferation and differentiation during early life [1, 2]
Based on 97% sequence similarity, the V3–V4 region sequence was annotated as 9,302 bacterial operational taxonomic unit (OTU) in the jejunum, among which there were 541 shared bacterial OTUs; while the V3–V4 region sequence was annotated as 9,488 bacterial OTUs in the ileum, among which there were 469 shared bacterial OTUs (Figures 5A,B)
The modulation of microbiota composition by using probiotic or synbiotic during perinatal and early postnatal periods facilitates the colonization of potentially beneficial bacteria in the neonatal gut, which has been considered as a potential dietary strategy to reduce the risk of neonatal disease [29]
Summary
The gut microbiota exerts important roles in gut function, host metabolism, immune development, and cell proliferation and differentiation during early life [1, 2]. Colonization of intestinal microbiota promotes the development and maturation of the intestinal immune system and barrier function of the host [3]. Maternal diet during pregnancy and lactation periods is one of the pivotal factors affecting the growth and development of the offspring [4]. Recent studies showed that maternal commensal microbiota can induce antibodies that recognize antigens expressed by pathogenic bacteria and protect offspring from infection [13]. In this context, increasing the maternal beneficial microbiota through dietary supplementation during gestation and lactation periods has been considered a window of opportunity to modulate the intestinal health in offspring
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