Effects of Energy and Dietary Fiber on the Breast Development in Gilt

Shengyu Xu; Lianchao Tang; Haitao Xu; Yi Yang; Meng Cao; Sirun Chen; Xuemei Jiang; Jian Li; Yan Lin; Lianqiang Che; Zhengfeng Fang; Bin Feng; Yong Zhuo; Jianping Wang; De Wu

doi:10.3389/fvets.2022.830392

Effects of Energy and Dietary Fiber on the Breast Development in Gilt

Front Vet Sci. 2022 Mar 10:9:830392. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2022.830392. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Shengyu Xu^{1

2

3

4}, Lianchao Tang^{1

2

3

4}, Haitao Xu⁵, Yi Yang^{1

2

3

4}, Meng Cao^{1

2

3

4}, Sirun Chen^{1

2

3

4}, Xuemei Jiang^{1

2

3

4}, Jian Li^{1

2

3

4}, Yan Lin^{1

2

3

4}, Lianqiang Che^{1

2

3

4}, Zhengfeng Fang^{1

2

3

4}, Bin Feng^{1

2

3

4}, Yong Zhuo^{1

2

3

4}, Jianping Wang^{1

2

3

4}, De Wu^{1

2

3

4}

Affiliations

¹ Animal Nutrition Institute, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, China.
² Key Laboratory of Animal Disease-Resistant Nutrition, Ministry of Education, Chengdu, China.
³ Key Laboratory of Animal Disease-Resistant Nutrition and Feed, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Chengdu, China.
⁴ Key Laboratory of Animal Disease-Resistant Nutrition, Chengdu, China.
⁵ Animal Husbandry Development Center of Changyi City, Changyi, China.

Abstract

To study the effects of energy and dietary fiber on breast development in gilts and its possible mechanisms, 32 gilts (Landrace × Yorkshire) were randomly allocated into a 2 × 2 factorial design to receive a diet with low or high energy [LE: 33.37 MJ/d digestible energy (DE); HE: 41.87 MJ/d DE] and low or high fiber (LF: 0.3 kg/d dietary fiber, HF: 0.6 kg/d dietary fiber). The weight of breast tissue was recorded. The mammary glands were collected for further analyses. The high energy intake increased the relative weight of breast tissue (p < 0.05) and the content of breast fat (p < 0.05). At the same time, the oil red staining of breast slices also showed an increase in breast fat content in high-energy treatment. High energy intake increased the DNA concentration in breast tissues (p < 0.05). In addition, high energy intake increased the concentration of triglycerides, free fatty acids, and total cholesterol in the blood of gilts (p < 0.05), and the supplementation of high fiber tended to reduce free fatty acids, total cholesterol, and estradiol (p < 0.1). Proteomic analysis suggested that there were notable differences in the cytoskeleton, intracellular non-membrane-bounded organelle, apoptosis, receptor activity, and endopeptidase inhibitor activity in molecular function between the energy and fiber effects (p < 0.05). High fiber intake also decreased the mRNA expression of 5-HT7, Bax, and caspase-3 in the breast tissue of gilts (p < 0.05), which further confirmed the importance of fiber in regulating breast development in gilt. Our results indicate that increasing gilt energy intake improved breast weight and fat deposition and increased breast cell apoptosis. Increased fiber intake reduced breast fat deposition and breast cell apoptosis at high energy intake in gilts. These results provide a potential strategy for dietary intervention against high energy intake in gilts and even in humans.

Keywords: energy; fiber; gilt; mammary glands; proteomics.