Dietary butyrate,lauric acid and stearic acid improve gut morphology and epithelial cell turnover in weaned piglets

This study was to evaluate the effects of the supplementation of saturated fatty acids with different chain lengths on growth performance,intestinal morphology,epithelial cell proliferation,differentiation and apoptosis in weaned piglets.Thirty-two weaned piglets(Duroc×Landrace×Yorkshire,BW=7.81±0.26 kg)were weaned at 21 d and randomly assigned to 1 of 4 experimental treatments:(1)a basal diet(control);(2)control+0.3% butyrate(BT);(3)control+0.3%lauric acid(LA);(4)control+0.3% stearic acid(SA).All piglets were then slaughtered for tissue sampling after having been fed experimental diets for 28 d after weaning.Supplementation of BT increased the gain-to-feed ratio(G:F)(P<0.05)compared to piglets fed the control diet from 14 to 28 d.In addition,the villus height(VH)to crypt depth(CD)ratio(VH:CD ratio)of the ileum were higher in the BT and LA diets than that of the control diet(P<0.05).The SA-supplemented diet increased ileal VH(P<0.05),whereas the BT-supplemented diet increased jejunal CD(P<0.05).Compared to the control,diets supplemented with BT,LA,or SA all tended to increase jejunal proliferation(Ki67/crypt positive cells)(P=0.190);diets supplemented with BT or SA significantly increased the number of ki67-positive cells in the ileal crypt(P<0.05).Furthermore,in the jejunum,the protein expression of activated caspase 3 and villin were increased in piglets fed BT,LA,or SA diets compared to those on the control diet(P<0.05).In the ileum,compared with the control diet,the BT diet tended to increase the protein level of mammalian phosphorylation target of rapamycin(p-m TOR,P<0.10);LA or SA diets significantly increased p-m TOR protein expression(P<0.05).These results show that dietary supplementation of BT,LA,or SA promotes jejunal cell renewal in weaned piglets.At the same time,increased proliferation of ileal crypt cells by promoting p-m TOR expression has beneficial effects on ileal morphology in weaned piglets.

Glutamine,glutamate,and aspartate differently modulate energy homeostasis of small intestine under normal or low energy status in piglets

Weaning stress may cause reduced energy intake for maintenance of mucosal structure.Gln,Glu,and Asp are major energy sources for the small intestine.This study investigated whether Gln,Glu,and Asp improve the intestinal morphology via regulating the energy metabolism in weaning piglets.A total of 198 weaned piglets were assigned to 3 treatments:Control(Basal diet+1.59%L-Ala);T1(Basal diet+1%L-Gln+0.5%L-Glu+0.1%L-Asp);T2(Low energy diet+1%L-Gln+0.5%L-Glu+0.1%L-Asp).Jejunum and ileum were obtained on d 5 or 21 post-weaning.T1 enhanced growth performance.T1 and T2 treatments improved small intestinal morphology by increasing villus height,goblet cell number and decreasing crypt depth.Days post-weaning affected the efficacy of T2,but not T1,on energy metabolism.At normal energy supplementation,Gln,Glu,and Asp restored small intestinal energy homeostasis via replenishing the Krebs'cycle and down-regulating the AMPK(adenosine monophosphate activated protein kinase)pathway.As these are not sufficient to maintain the intestinal energy-balance of piglets fed with a low energy diet on d 5 post-weaning,the AMPK,glycolysis,beta-oxidation,and mitochondrial biogenesis are activated to meet the high energy demand of enterocytes.These data indicated that Gln,Glu,and Asp could restore the energy homeostasis of intestinal mucosa of weaning piglets under normal energy fed.Low energy feeding may increase the susceptibility of piglets to stress,which may decrease the efficacy of Gln,Glu,and Asp on the restoration of energy balance.These findings provide new information on nutritional intervention for insufficient energy intake in weaning piglets.