Early changes in microbial colonization selectively modulate intestinal enzymes, but not inducible heat shock proteins in young adult Swine

PLoS One. 2014 Feb 4;9(2):e87967. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0087967. eCollection 2014.

Abstract

Metabolic diseases and obesity are developing worldwide in a context of plethoric intake of high energy diets. The intestine may play a pivotal role due to diet-induced alterations in microbiota composition and increased permeability to bacterial lipopolysaccharide inducing metabolic inflammation. Early programming of metabolic disorders appearing in later life is also suspected, but data on the intestine are lacking. Therefore, we hypothesized that early disturbances in microbial colonization have short- and long-lasting consequences on selected intestinal components including key digestive enzymes and protective inducible heat shock proteins (HSP). The hypothesis was tested in swine offspring born to control mothers (n = 12) or mothers treated with the antibiotic amoxicillin around parturition (n = 11), and slaughtered serially at 14, 28 and 42 days of age to assess short-term effects. To evaluate long-term consequences, young adult offspring from the same litters were offered a normal or a fat-enriched diet for 4 weeks between 140 and 169 days of age and were then slaughtered. Amoxicillin treatment transiently modified both mother and offspring microbiota. This was associated with early but transient reduction in ileal alkaline phosphatase, HSP70 (but not HSP27) and crypt depth, suggesting a milder or delayed intestinal response to bacteria in offspring born to antibiotic-treated mothers. More importantly, we disclosed long-term consequences of this treatment on jejunal alkaline phosphatase (reduced) and jejunal and ileal dipeptidylpeptidase IV (increased and decreased, respectively) of offspring born to antibiotic-treated dams. Significant interactions between early antibiotic treatment and later diet were observed for jejunal alkaline phosphatase and sucrase. By contrast, inducible HSPs were not affected. In conclusion, our data suggest that early changes in bacterial colonization not only modulate intestinal architecture and function transiently, but also exert site- and sometimes diet-specific long-term effects on key components of intestinal homeostasis.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Animals, Newborn
  • Blood Proteins / metabolism
  • Female
  • Heat-Shock Proteins / metabolism
  • Inflammation / metabolism
  • Intestinal Mucosa / enzymology
  • Intestinal Mucosa / metabolism*
  • Intestinal Mucosa / microbiology
  • Intestines / enzymology
  • Intestines / microbiology*
  • Jejunum / enzymology
  • Jejunum / metabolism
  • Male
  • Metabolic Diseases / metabolism
  • Metabolic Diseases / microbiology
  • Microbiota*
  • Swine

Substances

  • Blood Proteins
  • Heat-Shock Proteins

Grants and funding

This work was financially supported by the European Union (contract No. 227549) through the Interplay project. The authors are solely responsible for the work described in this paper, and their opinions are not necessarily those of the European Union. MEA was the recipient of a PhD thesis grant from INRA Human Nutrition Division and the Région Bretagne, France which are acknowledged. JZ was supported by a PhD fellowship of the China Scholarship Council (CSC). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.