Supplemental sodium butyrate stimulates different gastric cells in weaned pigs.

Sodium butyrate (SB) is used as an acidifier in animal feed. We hypothesized that supplemental SB impacts gastric morphology and function, depending on the period of SB provision. The effect of SB on the oxyntic and pyloric mucosa was studied in 4 groups of 8 pigs, each supplemented with SB either during the suckling period (d 4-28 of age), after weaning (d 29 to 39-40 of age) or both, or never. We assessed the number of parietal cells immunostained for H+/K+-ATPase, gastric endocrine cells immunostained for chromogranin A and somatostatin (SST) in the oxyntic mucosa, and gastrin-secreting cells in the pyloric mucosa. Gastric muscularis and mucosa thickness were measured. Expressions of the H+/K+-ATPase and SST type 2 receptor (SSTR2) genes in the oxyntic mucosa and of the gastrin gene in the pyloric mucosa were evaluated by real-time RT-PCR. SB increased the number of parietal cells per gland regardless of the period of administration (P < 0.05). SB addition after, but not before, weaning increased the number of enteroendocrine and SST-positive cells (P < 0.01) and tended to increase gastrin mRNA (P = 0.09). There was an interaction between the 2 periods of SB treatment for the expression of H/K-ATPase and SSTR2 genes (P < 0.05). Butyrate intake after weaning increased gastric mucosa thickness (P < 0.05) but not muscularis. SB used orally at a low dose affected gastric morphology and function, presumably in relationship with its action on mucosal maturation and differentiation.

Feeding of Lactobacillus sobrius reduces Escherichia coli F4 levels in the gut and promotes growth of infected piglets.

The microbial community in the guts of mammals is often seen as an important potential target in therapeutic and preventive interventions. The aim of the present study was to determine whether enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) F4 infection in young animals might be counteracted by a probiotic treatment with Lactobacillus sobrius DSM 16698. The experiment was conducted in three randomized consecutive replications, each consisting of 16 piglets, and including a control group and an L. sobrius fed group, both experimentally challenged with ETEC. During the entire trial, the animals' health status, body weight, and microbial parameters were monitored periodically. Probiotic supplementation containing L. sobrius significantly reduced the levels of ETEC in the ileum when fed directly to piglets after weaning. In contrast, the number of days when the piglets had an increased faecal water content was significantly higher in the probiotic group. Nevertheless, an improved daily weight gain was also observed in the animals that received probiotic L. sobrius relative to the control fed group. The data indicate that L. sobrius may be effective in the reduction of the E. coli F4 colonization and may improve the weight gain of infected piglets.

Effect of fructo-oligosaccharides and different doses of Bifidobacterium animalis in a weaning diet on bacterial translocation and Toll-like receptor gene expression in pigs.

OBJECTIVE: Our aim was to study the possible synergic action of one prebiotic with increasing dietary doses of a probiotic strain of Bifidobacterium animalis on the translocation of bifidobacteria and on Toll-like receptor (TLR) gene expression in different organs of weaned piglets. METHODS: Sixty-four pigs, reared from 21 to 35 d of age, were fed eight different diets according to a 2 x 4 factorial design: a control diet or the control diet supplemented with three different levels of B. animalis (10(7), 10(9), 10(11) colony-forming units/d), crossed with 0% or 2% sugar beet fructo-oligosaccharides. Pigs were then sacrificed, and the jejunum mucosa, ileocecal lymph nodes, and liver were sampled to determine the presence of Bifidobacterium spp. DNA and to quantify the expression of TLR2-, TLR4-, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha-encoding genes. RESULTS: We found Bifidobacterium spp. genus-specific DNA in lymph nodes of subjects from all dietary treatments, including the control diet, but it increased with the bifidobacteria oral dose (P = 0.065). The linear effect of the dose of B. animalis on the expression of the TLR2-encoding gene in the lymph nodes was observed when fructo-oligosaccharides were added to the diet (P < 0.05). Tumor necrosis factor-alpha-encoding gene expression was positively correlated with TLR4- and TLR2-encoding gene expressions (P < 0.001 and P < 0.01, respectively) and negatively correlated with bifidobacteria DNA (P < 0.05). Moreover, the expression of the TLR4-encoding gene showed a positive correlation with TLR2-encoding gene expression (P < 0.001). In contrast, there was no correlation between expressions of the TLR2- and TLR4-encoding genes with the bifidobacteria DNA. CONCLUSION: Soon after weaning, the translocation of the commensal bacteria in the ileocecal lymph nodes is a physiologic process. Moreover, diet affects the expression of the TLR2-encoding gene.

A continuous dietary supply of free calcium formate negatively affects the parietal cell population and gastric RNA expression for H+/K+-ATPase in weaning pigs.

Baby formula acidification can be used to reduce diarrhea. Calcium formate is a dietary acidifier frequently used in animal weaning diets; it is also a source of available calcium. Gastric acidification reduces gastrin release and hydrochloric acid (HCl) secretion. To study the medium-term effects on fundic gastric mucosa, we fed weaning pigs control diets or diets supplemented with free or fat-protected calcium formate. We evaluated the following: 1) the number of HCl-secreting parietal cells, by immunohistochemistry using an antibody against H(+)/K(+)-ATPase; 2) the number of enteroendocrine cells immunohistochemically stained with chromogranin A (CGA), somatostatin, and histamine (HIS); and 3) the expression of the H(+)/K(+)-ATPase gene, by real-time RT-PCR in the oxyntic mucosa. Cells co-staining for CGA and HIS were defined as enterochromaffin-like (ECL) cells. Pigs fed calcium formate had fewer parietal cells and a lower expression of the H(+)/K(+)-ATPase gene than the controls (P < 0.05). This reduction did not occur in pigs fed fat-protected calcium formate. Somatostatin immune-reactive cells were also more numerous in pigs fed free calcium formate than in controls (P < 0.05). The number of ECL cells was not affected. Using covariance analysis, the number of parietal cells explained part of the differences in the expression of H(+)/K(+)-ATPase gene (positive correlation, r = 0.385, P < 0.01), and excluded the statistical significance of the diet. In the future, the effects on the oxyntic mucosa should be checked when the diet supplemented with calcium formate is discontinued. Furthermore, a reduction in the number of parietal cells could impair the absorption of vitamin B-12 due to a reduced secretion of the intrinsic factor by these cells.