Zinc lactate alleviates oxidative stress by modulating crosstalk between constitutive androstane receptor signaling pathway and gut microbiota profile in weaned piglets

Wenjie Tang; Xuan Xiang; Houfu Wang; Wentao Zhou; Liuqin He; Yulong Yin; Tiejun Li

doi:10.1016/j.aninu.2023.10.001

Zinc lactate alleviates oxidative stress by modulating crosstalk between constitutive androstane receptor signaling pathway and gut microbiota profile in weaned piglets

Anim Nutr. 2023 Oct 12:16:23-33. doi: 10.1016/j.aninu.2023.10.001. eCollection 2024 Mar.

Authors

Wenjie Tang^{1

2

3}, Xuan Xiang^{4

5}, Houfu Wang⁴, Wentao Zhou^{4

6}, Liuqin He^{4

6}, Yulong Yin^{1

4

5}, Tiejun Li^{4

5}

Affiliations

¹ College of Animal Science and Technology, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, China.
² Sichuan Academy of Animal Sciences, Animal Breeding and Genetics Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Chengdu 610066, China.
³ Livestock and Poultry Biological Products Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Sichuan Animtech Feed Co., Ltd, Chengdu 610000, China.
⁴ Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Nutritional Physiology and Metabolic Process, CAS Key Laboratory of Agro-Ecological Processes in Subtropical Region, National Engineering Laboratory for Pollution Control and Waste Utilization in Livestock and Poultry Production, Institute of Subtropical Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changsha 410125, China.
⁵ College of Advanced Agricultural Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
⁶ Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Intestinal Function and Regulation, Laboratory of Animal Nutrition and Human Health, College of Life Sciences, Hunan Normal University, Changsha 410081, China.

Abstract

This study aimed to determine the regulatory mechanism of dietary zinc lactate (ZL) supplementation on intestinal oxidative stress damage in a paraquat (PQ)-induced piglet model. Twenty-eight piglets (mean body weight 9.51 ± 0.23 kg) weaned at 28 d of age were randomly divided into control, ZL, PQ, and ZL + PQ groups (n = 7 in each group). The ZL-supplemented diet had little effect on growth performance under normal physiological conditions. However, under PQ challenge, ZL supplementation significantly improved average daily gain (P < 0.05) and reduced the frequency of diarrhea. ZL improved intestinal morphology and ultrastructure by significantly increasing the expression level of the jejunal tight junction protein, zonula occludens-1 (ZO-1) (P < 0.05), and intestinal zinc transport and absorption in PQ-induced piglets, which reduced intestinal permeability. ZL supplementation also enhanced the expression of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory factor-related genes and decreased inflammatory cytokine expression and secretion in PQ-induced piglets. Furthermore, ZL treatment significantly inhibited the activation of constitutive androstane receptor (CAR) signaling (P < 0.01) in PQ-induced piglets and altered the structure of the gut microbiota, especially by significantly increasing the abundance of beneficial gut microbes, including UCG_002, Ruminococcus, Rikenellaceae_RC9_gut_group, Christensenellaceae_R_7_group, Treponema, unclassified_Christensenellaceae, and unclassified_Erysipelotrichaceae (P < 0.05). These data reveal that pre-administration of ZL to piglets can suppress intestinal oxidative stress by improving antioxidant and anti-inflammatory capacity and regulating the crosstalk between CAR signaling and gut microbiota.

Keywords: Constitutive androstane receptor; Gut microbiota; Inflammation; Intestinal barrier; Oxidative stress; Zinc lactate.