Zearalenone Affect the Intestinal Villi Associated with the Distribution and the Expression of Ghrelin and Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen in Weaned Gilts.

Quanwei Zhang,Yang Li,Weiren Yang,Libo Huang,Shuzhen Jiang,Bo Leng,Xuejun Yuan,Ning Jiao

doi:10.3390/toxins13100736

Abstract

This study explored and investigated how zearalenone (ZEA) affects the morphology of small intestine and the distribution and expression of ghrelin and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) in the small intestine of weaned gilts. A total of 20 weaned gilts (42-day-old, D × L × Y, weighing 12.84 ± 0.26 kg) were divided into the control and ZEA groups (ZEA at 1.04 mg/kg in diet) in a 35-d study. Histological observations of the small intestines revealed that villus injuries of the duodenum, jejunum and ileum, such as atrophy, retardation and branching dysfunction, were observed in the ZEA treatment. The villi branch of the ileum in the ZEA group was obviously decreased compared to that of the ileum, jejunum and duodenum, and the number of lymphoid nodules of the ileum was increased. Additionally, the effect of ZEA (1.04 mg/kg) was decreased by the immunoreactivity and distribution of ghrelin and PCNA in the duodenal and jejunal mucosal epithelial cells. Interestingly, ZEA increased the immunoreactivity of ghrelin in the ileal mucosal epithelial cells and decreased the immunoreactivity expression of PCNA in the gland epithelium of the small intestine. In conclusion, ZEA (1.04 mg/kg) had adverse effects on the development and the absorptive capacity of the villi of the intestines; yet, the small intestine could resist or ameliorate the adverse effects of ZEA by changing the autocrine of ghrelin in intestinal epithelial cells.

Highlights

Fusarium, a kind of fungi, is widely distributed in nature and is common in NorthAmerica, Asia and Europe with mild climates [1]
Discussion ileum showed that the ZEA-treated gilts were significantly decreased compared to the Thegilts meaningful of this study were that ZEA might damage the intestinal control
We found that ZEA decreased the expression of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) in the villus epithelium and increased the expression of PCNA in the intestinal gland, which was consistent with

Summary

Introduction

A kind of fungi, is widely distributed in nature and is common in NorthAmerica, Asia and Europe with mild climates [1]. Mycotoxins are produced by Fusarium, which is a major and serious threat to animal and human health, as well as livestock production [2,3,4]. In terms of animal health and productivity, the most important mycotoxins were trichothecenes, zearalenone (ZEA), deoxynivalenol and fumonisins B1 [5,6]. Studies have shown that mycotoxins can damage animal intestines through impairing the reduction–. Oxidation reaction balance of the body, affecting the digestive tract function and causing intestinal villus atrophy and an inflammatory response in the intestinal epithelial cells of piglets [3,7,8]. Some in vitro studies have shown that food contaminated by ZEA and ZEA metabolites can affect the synthesis of porcine cytokines and the structural integrity of the intestinal epithelium [9,10].

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Discussion

Conclusion