Project description:Early-weaning-induced stress causes diarrhea, thereby reduces growth performance of piglets. Gut bacterial dysbiosis emerges as a leading cause of post-weaning diarrhea. The present study was aimed to investigate the effect of capsulized fecal microbiota transportation (FMT) on gut bacterial community, immune response and gut barrier function of weaned piglets. Thirty-two were randomly divided into two groups fed with basal diet for 21 days. Recipient group was inoculated orally with capsulized fecal microbiota of health Tibetan pig daily morning during whole period of trial, while control group was given orally empty capsule. The results showed that the F/G ratio, diarrhea ratio, diarrhea index, and histological damage score of recipient piglets were significantly decreased. FMT treatment also significantly increased the colon length of piglets. Furthermore, the relative abundances of Firmicutes, Euryarchaeota, Tenericutes, Lactobacillus, Methanobrevibacter and Sarcina in colon of recipient piglets were increased, and the relative abundances of Campylobacter, Proteobacteria, and Melainabacteria were significantly decreased compared with control group.
Project description:Early weaning commonly results in gastrointestinal disorders, inflammation and diarrhea in infants and young animals. Resveratrol, a plant phenol, affords protection against inflammation and cancer.A porcine model was used to investigate the effects of maternal resveratrol supplementation on diarrhea, intestinal inflammation and intestinal morphology in offspring during weaning. The intestinal gene expression was measureed by RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) analysis. Results that weaning-associated intestinal inflammation and diarrhea in pig offspring were alleviated and intestinal morphology was improved by maternal resveratrol supplementation. In weaning piglets (21-day-old), RNA-seq showed that differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were enriched for T cell receptor, primary immunodeficiency, mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and Ras signaling pathway. In post-weaning piglets (28-day-old), RNA-seq showed that DEGs were enriched in the cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction pathway and pathways related to metabolism. This study provided insight into molecular mechanisms underlying the effects of maternal dietary resveratrol.
Project description:The objective of this experiment was to use transcriptional profiling of skeletal muscle and adipose tissue to develop a better understanding of the metabolic basis for poor weaned-pig transition. A total of 1,054 pigs were reared in commercial conditions and weighed at birth, weaning, and 3 weeks post- weaning. Transition average daily gain (tADG) was calculated as the average daily gain for the 3-week period post-weaning. Nine pigs from each of the lowest 10th percentile (low tADG) and the 60th-70th percentile (high tADG) were harvested at 3 weeks post-weaning. Differential expression analysis was conduced in both tissues using RNA-Seq methodology
Project description:The objective of this experiment was to use transcriptional profiling of skeletal muscle and adipose tissue to develop a better understanding of the metabolic basis for poor weaned-pig transition. A total of 1,054 pigs were reared in commercial conditions and weighed at birth, weaning, and 3 weeks post- weaning. Transition average daily gain (tADG) was calculated as the average daily gain for the 3-week period post-weaning. Nine pigs from each of the lowest 10th percentile (low tADG) and the 60th-70th percentile (high tADG) were harvested at 3 weeks post-weaning. Differential expression analysis was conduced in both tissues using RNA-Seq methodology mRNA profiling in two different tissues (skeletal muscle and adipose tissue) harvested at 3 weeks post-weaning
Project description:The yield, cell composition, and function of islets isolated from various ages of neonatal pigs were characterized using in vitro and in vivo experimental models. Islets from 7- and 10-day old pigs showed significantly better function both in vitro and in vivo compared to islets from 3- and 5-day old pigs however, the islet yield from 10-day old pigs were significantly less than those obtained from the other pigs. Since islets from 3-day old pigs were used in our previous studies and islets from 7-day old pigs reversed diabetes more efficiently than islets from other groups, we further evaluated the function of these islets post-transplantation. B6 rag-/- mouse recipients of various numbers of islets from 7-day old pigs achieved normoglycemia faster and showed significantly improved response to glucose challenge compared to the recipients of the same numbers of islets from 3-dayold pigs. These results are in line with the findings that islets from 7-day-old pigs showed reduced voltage-dependent K+ (Kv) channel activity and their ability to recover from post-hypoxia/reoxygenation stress. Despite more resident immune cells and immunogenic characteristics detected in islets from 7-day old pigs compared to islets from 3-day old pigs, the combination of anti-LFA-1 and anti- CD154 monoclonal antibodies are equally effective at preventing the rejection of islets from both age groups of pigs. Collectively, these results suggest that islets from various ages of neonatal pigs vary in yield, cellular composition, and function. Such parameters may be considered when defining the optimal pancreas donor for islet xenotransplantation studies.
Project description:The aim of this study was to investigate whether long term intake of pea fiber would improve colonic barrier, bacterial profile and alter colonic gene expression using DNA microarray. Fifty weaned pigs were randomly allocated into 2 groups receiving control and fibrous diet with inclusion of pea fiber from weaning age until d 160. The two diets had similar nutrient levels. Pigs fed pea fiber diet (PF diet) had markedly decreased overall average daily feed intake (ADFI) and Feed:Gain in growing and finishing period (P<0.05). In addition, long term intake of PF diet induced deeper crypt (+50 %, P<0.05), increased protein expression of colonic mucin and sIgA (+13~16 %, P<0.05). Resulting from the increased lactobacillus content (P<0.05), moreover, pigs fed PF diet had significantly higher concentration of colonic total short chain fatty acid (SCFA) and acetic acid. DNA microarray results indicated that feeding PF diet induced alterations in the expression of colonic cancer, immune response and lipid metabolism-related genes, as well as genes involved in signal pathway such as intestinal immune network for IgA production, PPAR signaling pathway and nutrient metabolism-related pathways. Collectively, our results suggested that long term intake of PF diet would improve colonic health via altering colonic bacteria profile, colonic barriers, immune and metabolism related protein or gene expressions. A total of 50 weaned pigs (Duroc×Landrace×Yorkshire, initial body weight: 7.2±0.5 kg) were randomly allocated to 2 groups with 5 pens each group and 5 pig each pen. Pigs were fed control (Control) and fibrous diets (10~20 % inclusion of pea fiber, PF) from weaning at 28 day to 160 day-old-age, which is subjected to phase feeding by weaning diet (weaning to d 30 post-weaning), growing diet (d 30~90 postweaning) and finishing diet (d 90~160 postweaning) according to their physiological stage. At d 160 postweaning, four pigs each group were selected to be slaughtered for collection of colonic tissues and DNA microarray was applied to the colonic tissues for analysis of gene expression.