AUTHOR=Liu Yang , Azad Md. Abul Kalam , Kong Xiangfeng , Zhu Qian , Yu Zugong 

TITLE=Dietary bile acids supplementation modulates immune response, antioxidant capacity, glucose, and lipid metabolism in normal and intrauterine growth retardation piglets

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Nutrition

VOLUME=9

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/nutrition/articles/10.3389/fnut.2022.991812

DOI=10.3389/fnut.2022.991812

ISSN=2296-861X

ABSTRACT=<p>Intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) results in intestinal dysfunction contributing to metabolic syndrome and growth lag of piglets. Bile acid (BA) presents various bioactivities, including regulation roles in antioxidant, anti-inflammation, and glucose and lipid metabolism. Forty-eight weaned piglets were allocated to four groups in a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement with the effects of BA supplementation and IUGR challenge. Twenty-four IUGR piglets and 24 normal birth weight (NBW) piglets were allocated into two groups, respectively, including the control group fed with a basal diet, and the treatment group fed a basal diet supplemented with 400 mg/kg BA. The experiment lasted 28 days. The results indicated that BA improved liver and spleen indexes in IUGR piglets, whereas decreased blood RDW-CV and RDW-SD regardless of IUGR (<italic>P</italic> &lt; 0.05). Dietary BA supplementation decreased plasma CAT activity and liver GSH concentration regardless of IUGR, whereas increased plasma GSH and liver H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub> and decreased liver T-AOC in weaned piglets (<italic>P</italic> &lt; 0.05). In addition, IUGR downregulated liver <italic>Nrf1</italic> and <italic>Nrf2</italic> expression levels, while BA supplementation upregulated the <italic>Nrf2</italic> expression of liver in weaned piglets (<italic>P</italic> &lt; 0.05). Dietary BA decreased (<italic>P</italic> &lt; 0.05) jejunal GSH concentration and ileal CAT activity regardless of IUGR. Furthermore, IUGR upregulated (<italic>P</italic> &lt; 0.05) jejunal <italic>SOD</italic> and <italic>CAT</italic> expression levels; however, dietary BA upregulated ileal <italic>Nrf1</italic> (<italic>P</italic> &lt; 0.05) and <italic>Keap1</italic> (<italic>P</italic> = 0.07) expression levels in piglets regardless of IUGR. Moreover, IUGR upregulated the liver lipid synthesis (<italic>FAS</italic>) and downregulated <italic>HSL</italic> and <italic>SCD1</italic> expression levels, while dietary BA downregulated liver <italic>FAS</italic> and <italic>SCD1</italic> expression levels (<italic>P</italic> &lt; 0.05). However, BA supplementation could enhance liver gluconeogenesis by upregulating (<italic>P</italic> &lt; 0.05) the liver <italic>G6PC</italic> and <italic>PCK1</italic> expression levels in the NBW piglets but not in the IUGR piglets. Collectively, these findings suggest that BA could regulate the redox status of weaned piglets by regulating the Nrf2/Keap1 pathway and improving liver glucose and lipid metabolism of IUGR piglets. These findings will provide a reference for the application of BA in swine production; moreover, considering the physiological similarity between pigs and humans, these findings will provide a reference for IUGR research in humans.</p>