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Effects of age and weaning conditions on blood indicators of oxidative status in pigs.

ABSTRACT: Weaning is a source of social, nutritional and environmental disorders that challenge piglet health. This study assesses the relevance of using plasma indicators of oxidative status as biomarkers of health around weaning in pigs. Blood antioxidant potential (BAP), hydroperoxides (HPO), oxidative stress index (OSI, e.g. HPO/BAP), vitamin A and E concentrations were investigated in two different trials. Trial A was carried out in an experimental unit to investigate the effects of age (from 12 to 147 days of age), weaning (at 21 or 28 days of age) and management at weaning (in optimal (OC) or deteriorated (DC) conditions) on those parameters. Trial B was performed in 16 commercial pig farms to describe the variability of these indicators on field between 26 and 75 days of age. In trial A, between 12 and 147 days of age, HPO globally increased (P < 0.001), vitamin E concentration decreased (P < 0.001) whereas BAP and vitamin A concentration remained relatively stable (P > 0.1). Vitamins E and A concentrations dropped 5 days after weaning independently of weaning age, weaning conditions and expression of diarrhea (P < 0.001). Twelve days after weaning, whatever the weaning age, HPO and OSI increased in DC compared to OC piglets (P = 0.05 and P < 0.01) and in piglets exhibiting diarrhea compared to those without diarrhea (P < 0.01 and P < 0.001). In DC pigs, BAP was also decreased (P < 0.05) 12 days after weaning. On trial B, plasma concentrations of vitamins A and E decreased and HPO increased 5 and 19 days respectively after weaning (P < 0,001). Contrarily to trial A, BAP values did not drop after weaning. Piglets which had the lowest ADG (Average Daily Gain) after weaning had greater HPO and OSI and lower vitamin A and E concentrations after weaning but also lower vitamin E concentration before weaning (P < 0.05). In conclusion, HPO or OSI seem to be good indicators of health disorders around weaning and plasma concentration of vitamin E before weaning is associated to growth after weaning.

SUBMITTER: Buchet A

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5443573 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Effects of age and weaning conditions on blood indicators of oxidative status in pigs.

Buchet Arnaud A Belloc Catherine C Leblanc-Maridor Mily M Merlot Elodie E

PloS one 20170524 5

Weaning is a source of social, nutritional and environmental disorders that challenge piglet health. This study assesses the relevance of using plasma indicators of oxidative status as biomarkers of health around weaning in pigs. Blood antioxidant potential (BAP), hydroperoxides (HPO), oxidative stress index (OSI, e.g. HPO/BAP), vitamin A and E concentrations were investigated in two different trials. Trial A was carried out in an experimental unit to investigate the effects of age (from 12 to 1 ...[more]

PMID: 28542567

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Project description:BackgroundHealth and growth of pigs are affected by the hygiene of housing. Lower growth performance observed in poor hygiene of housing conditions is explained by reduced feed intake and metabolic changes caused by the activation of body defences. In a previous experiment, we reported contrasted average values of body weight gain, concentrations of circulating metabolites, redox and immune indicators in blood of pigs housed in good or poor hygiene conditions during the growing period. This study addressed inter-individual variability in these responses to determine whether a particular blood profile explains average daily gain (ADG) of the pig.ResultsThe data originated from 160 growing pigs, half of which subjected to a hygiene challenge for 6 weeks (W0 to W6) and the others housed in good hygiene conditions. Pigs originated from two lines divergently selected for residual feed intake (RFI). Individual body weights were recorded during this period, and relative ADG (rADGW0-W6) was calculated as the ADG corrected by the initial body weight measured at W0. Blood samples were taken before (W0) and 3 weeks (W3) after the beginning of the challenge. The analysed dataset consisted of 51 metabolites and indicators of immune and inflammatory responses measured on 136 pigs having no missing value for any variables, when calculated as the differences W3 minus W0 in circulating concentrations. An algorithm tested all possible linear regression models and then selected the best ones to explain rADGW0-W6. Six variables were identified across the best models and correlated with rADGW0-W6 with a goodness of fit (adjusted R2) of about 67%. They were changes in haptoglobin, global antioxidant capacity of plasma (Biological Antioxidant Power or BAP), free fatty acids, and 3 amino acids: leucine, tryptophan, and 1-methylhistidine. The effects of housing conditions and RFI lines were comprised in the variables of the selected models and none of these conditions improved accuracy of the predictive models, leading to genericity of the pinpointed metabolic changes in relation to variability of ADG.ConclusionsThis approach allows us to identify blood variables, whose changes in blood concentrations correlated to ADG under contrasted sanitary conditions.

Project description:The aim was to investigate the effect of weaning age, weaning weight, and nursery feeding regime on post-weaning performance. The focus was on pigs weaned light, as they may be better off when weaned at a later age and/or offered a specialist nursery feeding regime. Piglets (n = 1,448) from one farrowing batch of 110 sows that farrowed over 2 wk were individually weighed and their morphometric measurements were taken at birth. Pigs were weaned on the same day, but variation in birth date resulted in variable weaning ages (mean age day 34.1, SD = 2.5). The youngest 50% at weaning were classified Y and the oldest 50% as O; within an age class, the lightest 50% were classified L, the heaviest 50% as H, and housed accordingly. Pigs were individually weighed at weaning, 7 and 15 wk post-weaning. At weaning, Y were 6 d younger and 1.4 kg lighter than O pigs, whereas L were 3.2 kg lighter than H pigs. Pigs were randomly allocated to a 3-stage superior (SUP) or control (CON) nursery feeding regime, with SUP pigs having a 65% greater allowance (on a kg/pig basis) of the first and second stage feeds than the CON. Pigs weaned Y had a higher mortality rate from weaning to 7 wk post-weaning than pigs weaned O (9.14% vs. 4.98%; P = 0.046). As expected, age and weight significantly (P < 0.001) affected performance to both 7 and 15 wk post-weaning: at 15-wk pigs weaned Y were 5.5 kg lighter than pigs weaned O; pigs weaned L were 9.0 kg lighter than H pigs. It was estimated that pigs weaned YL needed ~4 d more (P = 0.018) to reach 60 kg BW than pigs weaned OL. Feed intake was not affected by feeding regime, age and weight, or their interactions. Performance was not affected by feeding regime (P > 0.05), but was affected by the weight × feeding regime interaction (P = 0.044) to 7 wk post-weaning: L pigs on SUP were 1.2 kg heavier than L pigs on the CON regime; this was not the case for the H pigs. Performance up to 7 wk post-weaning was positively associated with birth weight to cranial circumference ratio and weaning weight (P < 0.05) for both YL and OL pigs; for the latter, additional performance predictors were weaning age (P = 0.044) and feeding (P = 0.027). Improved growth for L pigs up to 7 wk post-weaning could be obtained by a greater allowance of the nursery diets. However, weaning at a later age benefitted the performance of L pigs to a common BW, suggesting that this might be a strategy with longer term benefits.

Project description:Lactation length and weaning age provide important information about maternal investment, which can reflect the health and nutritional status of the mother, as well as broader reproductive strategies in mammals. Calcium-normalized strontium (Sr) and barium (Ba) concentrations in the growth layers of mammalian teeth differ for nursing animals and those consuming non-milk foods, thus can be used to estimate age-at-weaning. To date, this approach has been used only for terrestrial animals, and almost exclusively for primates.The goal of this study was to determine whether Sr and Ba concentrations in the cementum of Pacific walrus Odobenus rosmarus divergens teeth can be used to estimate weaning age. Teeth from 107 walruses were analysed using laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, and calcium-normalized 88Sr and 137Ba concentrations were quantified.For most walruses, both Sr and Ba concentrations exhibited rapid changes in early life. Ba concentrations matched closely with expected patterns in the published literature, rapidly declining from high to low concentrations (typically from ~10 ppm to ~5 ppm). In contrast, Sr exhibited a pattern opposite to that presented in studies of terrestrial mammals, appearing nearly identical to Ba (typically declining from ~400 ppm to ~200 ppm). To explain these findings, we present conceptual models of the factors generating weaning signals in Sr and Ba for terrestrial mammals, as well as a new, hypothetical model for walruses. Both a visual and mathematical approach to weaning age estimation indicated a median weaning age of walruses at the end of the second year of life (in the second dark layer of the tooth cementum), with many walruses estimated to have weaned in their third year of life, and a smaller group weaning in their fourth or fifth year. This is later than expected, given a published estimate of walrus weaning at 18-24 months.These results do not conclusively support the use of tooth Sr and Ba for estimating weaning age in walruses, and further research is warranted to better understand the drivers of the observed patterns of Ba and Sr accumulation in walrus teeth.

Project description:BACKGROUND:Improving feed efficiency (FE) of pigs by genetic selection is of economic and environmental significance. An increasingly accepted measure of feed efficiency is residual feed intake (RFI). Currently, the molecular mechanisms underlying RFI are largely unknown. Additionally, to incorporate RFI into animal breeding programs, feed intake must be recorded on individual pigs, which is costly and time-consuming. Thus, convenient and predictive biomarkers for RFI that can be measured at an early age are greatly desired. In this study, we aimed to explore whether differences exist in the global gene expression profiles of peripheral blood of 35 to 42 day-old pigs with extremely low (more efficient) and high RFI (less efficient) values from two lines that were divergently selected for RFI during the grow-finish phase, to use such information to explore the potential molecular basis of RFI differences, and to initiate development of predictive biomarkers for RFI. RESULTS:We identified 1972 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) (q ? 0.15) between the low (n = 15) and high (n = 16) RFI groups of animals by using RNA sequencing technology. We validated 24 of 37 selected DEGs by reverse transcription-quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) in a joint analysis of 24 (12 per line) of the 31 samples already used for RNA-seq plus 24 (12 per line) novel samples from the same contemporary group of pigs. Using an analysis of the 24 novel samples alone, only nine of the 37 selected DEGs were validated. Genes involved in small molecule biosynthetic process, antigen processing and presentation of peptide antigen via major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I, and steroid biosynthetic process were overrepresented among DEGs that had higher expression in the low versus high RFI animals. Genes known to function in the proteasome complex or mitochondrion were also significantly enriched among genes with higher expression in the low versus high RFI animals. Alternatively, genes involved in signal transduction, bone mineralization and regulation of phosphorylation were overrepresented among DEGs with lower expression in the low versus high RFI animals. The DEGs significantly overlapped with genes associated with disease, including hyperphagia, eating disorders and mitochondrial diseases (q < 1E-05). A weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) identified four co-expression modules that were differentially expressed between the low and high RFI groups. Genes involved in lipid metabolism, regulation of bone mineralization, cellular immunity and response to stimulus were overrepresented within the two modules that were most significantly differentially expressed between the low and high RFI groups. We also found five of the DEGs and one of the co-expression modules were significantly associated with the RFI phenotype of individual animals (q < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS:The post-weaning blood transcriptome was clearly different between the low and high RFI groups. The identified DEGs suggested potential differences in mitochondrial and proteasomal activities, small molecule biosynthetic process, and signal transduction between the two RFI groups and provided potential new insights into the molecular basis of RFI in pigs, although the observed relationship between the post-weaning blood gene expression and RFI phenotype measured during the grow-finish phase was not strong. DEGs and representative genes in co-expression modules that were associated with RFI phenotype provide a preliminary list for developing predictive biomarkers for RFI in pigs.

Dataset Information

Effects of age and weaning conditions on blood indicators of oxidative status in pigs.

Publications

Effects of age and weaning conditions on blood indicators of oxidative status in pigs.

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