XII - 12th International Symposium - Digestive Physiology of Pigs

Digestive
Physiology
of Pigs
3000 Invited review: Long-term effects of pre and
early postnatal nutrition and environment on the gut.
J. P. Lallès,* INRA, INRA, UR1341 ADNC, F-35590 Saint-
Gilles, France.
The Developmental Origins of Health and Disease
(DOhAD) hypothesis formulated in the early eighties has
stimulated research on long-term effects of early nutrition
and environment over the last decades. Long-term is
understood in this review as physiologically relevant
periods such as after weaning, around sexual maturity and
in adulthood, as opposed to early developmental periods.
The small and large intestines as targets for long-term
issues have received little attention until recent years while
the stomach has been considered very rarely. Data have
accumulated in laboratory animal models but they are still
scarce in the swine species. Following the epidemics of
metabolic diseases and obesity in Westernised countries,
experimental evidence has been published showing that
nutritional factors, including energy, fat and fatty acids,
protein and micronutrients do impact various facets
of gut function. These include alterations in intestinal
digestive, absorptive, secretory, barrier and defense
systems, often in a way potentially detrimental to the host.
Environmental factors with long-term influence include
stress (e.g., maternal deprivation; neonatal gut irritation),
chemical pollutants (e.g., bisphenol A) and gut microbiota
disturbances (e.g., by antibiotics). Examples of such longterm
effects on the gut will be provided in both laboratory
animals and pigs, together with underlying physiological
mechanisms whenever available. Experimental evidence
for the involvement of underlying epigenetic modifications
(e.g., genomic DNA methylation) in long-term studies has
just started to emerge with regard to the gastrointestinal
tract. Also, interactions between the microbiota and the
host are being considered has potential players in the early
programming of gut functions. Finally suggestions for future
research, especially in the swine species will be provided to
better understand, and then control, early programming as
an attempt to optimize vital functions of the gastrointestinal
tract throughout adult life.
Key words: nutrition, gut, long term
3001 Long-term impact of piglet weaning age on
intestinal epithelial barrier function and stress responsiveness.
A. J. Moeser,* E. L. Overman, S. M. D’Costa,
and J. Xu, North Carolina State University, College of Veterinary
Medicine, Raleigh, NC, USA.
There is increasing evidence that the development and
long-term function of the gastrointestinal system can be
profoundly influenced by stressful experiences occurring
in early life. Previous studies indicate that early weaning
(weaning < 21 d of age) induces intestinal damage that
is mediated by activation of intestinal stress signaling
pathways (Moeser et al., 2006, 2007; Smith et al., 2010);
however, the long-term effects of early weaning stress
on intestinal function and stress responsiveness are
unknown. In these studies, we investigated the impact of
early weaning on intestinal epithelial barrier function and
intestinal responsiveness to subsequent production stress.
XII INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON
DIGESTIVE PHYSIOLOGY OF PIGS
116
Session V
Yorkshire-Hampshire-Large White-cross piglets were
weaned either at 18 d of age (early weaned) or 28 d of
age (late weaned) and housed under normal production
conditions. At 12 weeks post-weaning, a subset of pigs
(n = 6) within each weaning age group were subjected
to 3 h of mixing/commingling stress. Following the stress
period, colon was harvested for assessment of intestinal
epithelial barrier function by measuring transepithelial
electrical resistance (TER) and mucosal-to-serosal flux of
FITC dextran (4 kDa) in colonic tissues mounted on Ussing
chambers. In addition, histological analysis of intestinal
tissues were performed. Under baseline conditions (no
mixing stress) colon from early weaned pigs exhibited
impaired intestinal barrier function demonstrated by lower
TER and greater FD4 flux rates compared with colon from
late weaned pigs (P < 0.05). Histological analysis revealed
increased inflammatory cells (mast cells, neutrophils, and
lymphocytes) in early weaned colonic tissues compared
with late weaned pigs. Compared with unstressed controls,
mixing stress in early weaned pigs caused reductions in
colonic TER (P < 0.05) and elevations in FD4 flux rates (P
< 0.01) whereas no changes were observed in late-weaned
pigs subjected to the same stress. These data indicate
that early life stress, such as early weaning, can have a
long-lasting impact on intestinal barrier function and stressresponsiveness
in the pig.
Key words: intestinal barrier function, stress, early life
3002 Butyrate supplementation to gestating sows and
piglets induces muscle and adipose tissue oxidative
genes and improves growth performance. H. Lu and K.
Ajuwon,* Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA.
The immediate post-weaning period often leads to postweaning
growth check in growing pigs due to changes
in the diet, mixture of pigs from different litters, stress of
moving and greater exposure to pathogen load. To alleviate
this early growth and disease challenge, antibiotics have
been used for decades to improve piglet survivability
and performance. Antibiotics are now highly discouraged
in pig diets due to increased risk of developing highly
resistant pathogenic strains from continuous antibiotic use.
We tested the effect of prenatal and postnatal butyrate
supplementation on growth performance of piglets. In the
first study, piglets were supplemented with 0.3% butyrate
in a liquid feeding system from 4 d after birth to weaning
(d21). Butyrate led to increased average daily gain of the
supplemented piglets by 13% compared with saline treated
control pigs. Gene expression analysis reveals significant
induction of PGC-1α in muscle, adipose tissue and ileum.
PPARα was also significantly induced in the subcutaneous
adipose tissue and muscle (longissimus dorsi) of butyrate
supplemented piglets. In vitro, butyrate increased (P
< 0.05) fatty acid oxidation in primary adipocytes and
suppressed basal lipolysis by 62% compared with untreated
cells. Butyrate significantly suppressed lipogenesis
( 14 C-glucose incorporation into lipids) in adipocytes. This
was accompanied by an approximately 30% reduction in
the mRNA expression of fatty acid synthase (P < 0.05)
in butyrate treated cells vs. controls. Additionally, piglets
born to sows that were supplemented with 0.3% butyrate