Jejunal inflammatory cytokines, barrier proteins and microbiome-metabolome responses to early supplementary feeding of Bamei suckling piglets

Abstract Background: Dietary intervention has been reported to improve intestinal health. The intestinal microbiota of newborn animals plays a fundamental role in the development of intestinal function and the innate immune system. However, little is currently known about dietary interventions in the gut microbiota and barrier function of livestock, especially suckling Bamei piglets. To this end, we studied the effect of early dietary supplementation on intestinal bacterial communities and intestinal barrier function in piglets.Results: 10 purebred Bamei sows were randomly allocated into two groups. In group one, the piglets received a supplementary milk replacer on day 7 of age, whereas the other control group was allowed sow’s milk alone. At 21 days, 18 and 17, respectively, piglets in each group of average weight were randomly selected and sacrificed. Tissue and digesta samples were collected from the jejunum to evaluate differences in the microbiome-metabolome and the mRNA expression of inflammatory cytokines (TLR4, TNFα and IL-8) and barrier proteins (ZO-1, Occludin and Claudin-1)). Sequencing of 16S rRNA revealed that early supplementary feeding improved (p<0.05) the gut microbiome composition of Bamei suckling piglets. In addition, metabolomics analyses demonstrated simuitaneous responses as, mang gut microflora–related metabolites were also being affected. Meanwhile, early supplementary feeding of Bamei suckling piglets altered the gene expression of inflammatory cytokine and barrier protein in the jejunum. Conclusions: In summary, these results provide important insights on the relationships between jejunal microbiota and related metabolites, and jejunal barrier function during the early life of Bamei suckling piglets.