title: Oral administration of synthetic porcine beta-defensin-2 improves growth performance and cecal microbial flora and down-regulates the expression of intestinal toll-like receptor-4 and inflammatory cytokines in weaned piglets challenged with enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli.
abstract: Synthetic porcine beta-defensin-2 (pBD-2) was tested as an alternative to antimicrobial growth-promoters in pig production. Thirty 21-day weaned piglets were challenged with enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli, and orally dosed with either sterile water (CON), pBD-2 (BD) or neomycin sulphate (NS) twice daily for 21 days. pBD-2 and NS led to higher growth performance, jejunum villus height and increased expression of insulin-like growth factor-I compared with the CON group (P < 0.05). Hemolytic E. coli scores from rectal swabs, and copy numbers of E. coli, Bacteroides fragilis and Streptococcus in the cecal digesta of the BD- or NS-treated piglets were lower than those in the CON group (P < 0.05). Messenger RNA levels of toll-like receptor 4, tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin (IL)-1β, and IL-8 in the jejunum mucosa of the BD and NS groups were lower than those in the CON group (P < 0.05). Copy numbers of Lactobacilli and Bifidobacteria in the cecal digesta of the BD group were higher than those of the CON and NS groups (P < 0.05). Therefore, pBD-2 has antimicrobial activity in piglets, and it can improve growth performance, reduce inflammatory cytokine expression and affect intestinal morphological indices in the same way as probiotics. © 2015 Japanese Society of Animal Science.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory for Bio-feed and Molecular Nutrition, Southwest University, Chongqing, China. tangzhiru2326@sina.com.cn.
authors.forename: Zhiru
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory for Bio-feed and Molecular Nutrition, Southwest University, Chongqing, China.
authors.forename: Ling
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory for Bio-feed and Molecular Nutrition, Southwest University, Chongqing, China.
authors.forename: Baoshi
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory for Bio-feed and Molecular Nutrition, Southwest University, Chongqing, China.
authors.forename: Huang
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Deng
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory for Bio-feed and Molecular Nutrition, Southwest University, Chongqing, China.
authors.forename: Xin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Lai
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory for Bio-feed and Molecular Nutrition, Southwest University, Chongqing, China.
authors.forename: Jingyan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory for Bio-feed and Molecular Nutrition, Southwest University, Chongqing, China. sunzh2002cn@aliyun.com.
authors.forename: Zhihong
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Sun
mesh_terms: D000284:Administration, Oral; D000818:Animals; D002432:Cecum / Q000382:microbiology*; D016207:Cytokines / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D015536:Down-Regulation / Q000187:drug effects*; D054307:Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli / Q000276:immunology*; D000069196:Gastrointestinal Microbiome; D015870:Gene Expression / Q000187:drug effects*; D018836:Inflammation Mediators / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D019936:Probiotics; D013552:Swine / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000276:immunology* / Q000382:microbiology; D051197:Toll-Like Receptor 4 / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D014886:Weaning; D023083:beta-Defensins / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines; D018836:Inflammation Mediators; D051197:Toll-Like Receptor 4; D023083:beta-Defensins
keywords: antimicrobial peptide; inflammation cytokines; piglets; porcine β-defensin-2; toll-like receptor-4