N-Acetyl-D-glucosamine improves the intestinal development and nutrient absorption of weaned piglets via regulating the activity of intestinal stem cells

Zhaobin Wang; Jie Hu; Xinyuan Yang; Lanmei Yin; Min Wang; Yuebang Yin; Jianzhong Li; Huansheng Yang; Yulong Yin

doi:10.1016/j.aninu.2021.04.008

N-Acetyl-D-glucosamine improves the intestinal development and nutrient absorption of weaned piglets via regulating the activity of intestinal stem cells

Anim Nutr. 2022 Mar;8(1):10-17. doi: 10.1016/j.aninu.2021.04.008. Epub 2021 Oct 2.

Authors

Zhaobin Wang^{1

2}, Jie Hu¹, Xinyuan Yang¹, Lanmei Yin^{1

2}, Min Wang^{1

2}, Yuebang Yin², Jianzhong Li¹, Huansheng Yang^{1

2}, Yulong Yin^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Intestinal Function and Regulation, Hunan International Joint Laboratory of Animal Intestinal Ecology and Health, Laboratory of Animal Nutrition and Human Health, College of Life Sciences, Hunan Normal University, Changsha, Hunan, 410081, China.
² Key Laboratory of Agro-ecological Processes in Subtropical Region, Institute of Subtropical Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hunan Provincial Engineering Research Center for Healthy Livestock and Poultry Production, Scientific Observing and Experimental Station of Animal Nutrition and Feed Science in South-Central, Ministry of Agriculture, Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Nutritional Physiology and Metabolic Process, Changsha, Hunan, 410125, China.

Abstract

Early weaning in piglets can cause a series of negative effects. This causes serious losses to the livestock industry. N-Acetyl-D-glucosamine (D-GlcNAc) plays an important role in regulating the homeostasis of the intestine. This study aimed to investigate the effects of D-GlcNAc on the growth performance and intestinal function of weaned piglets. Twenty-four weaned piglets ([Yorkshire × Landrace] × Duroc, 6.58 ± 0.15 kg, n = 8) at 21 d old were fed 3 diets supplemented with 0 (control), 1 and 3 g/kg D-GlcNAc. The intestinal organoid model was used to verify the regulatory mechanism of D-GlcNAc on intestinal epithelial cells. On the whole, supplementation of D-GlcNAc in the piglet diet has no significant effect on the growth performance and diarrhoea of weaned piglets (P > 0.05). The apparent digestibility of nutrients and mRNA abundance of nutrient transporters in the 1 g/kg D-GlcNAc group were increased significantly (P < 0.05). D-GlcNAc did not affect villus height (VH) and crypt depth (CD) but resulted in a numerically shorter VH and shallower CD, which lead to an increase in ileal VH:CD ratio (P < 0.05). Cell shedding rates in the ileum villi increased (P < 0.05). The relative length and weight of the small intestine of weaned piglets increased (P < 0.05). In vitro studies found that the budding rates of organoids treated with 0.1 mmol/L D-GlcNAc increased on the d 3 and 5 (P < 0.05). The average budding numbers per budding organoid treated with 0.1 and 10 mmol/L D-GlcNAc increased on d 3 (P < 0.05). D-GlcNAc upregulated leucine rich repeat containing G protein-coupled receptor 5 (Lgr5 ⁺ ) and Chromogranin A mRNA abundance in organoids (P < 0.05). Mucin 2 (Muc2) expression increased when treated with 1 and 10 mmol/L D-GlcNAc (P < 0.05). In conclusion, dietary D-GlcNAc cannot improve the growth performance of weaned piglets. However, it can promote the growth and development of the intestinal tract and improve the digestion and absorption capacity of the intestine, which is achieved by affecting the activity of intestinal stem cells.

Keywords: Growth performance; Intestinal organoid; Intestinal stem cell; N-Acetyl-D-glucosamine; Weaned piglet.