title: Expression of recombinant human α-lactalbumin in milk of transgenic cloned pigs is sufficient to enhance intestinal growth and weight gain of suckling piglets.
abstract: Human α-lactalbumin (HLA) has very high nutritional value and important physiological functions during the neonatal period. The peptides derived from HLA provide diverse health benefits including antimicrobial, antiviral, immune-modulating, and antihypertensive effects. Thus, it is worth investigating the effects on offspring development of increasing HLA in milk. In this study, we found that recombinant human α-lactalbumin (rHLA) exhibits efficient inhibition of dipeptidyl peptidase-IV (DPP-IV) activity in an in vitro simulated gastrointestinal digestion system. Using a BAC clone containing the complete HLA gene as a candidate vector, we generated two lines of transgenic cloned sows via somatic cell nuclear transfer that over-expressed rHLA. The average concentrations of rHLA in milk from the two lines of transgenic cloned sows were 2.24 ± 0.71 mg/ml and 2.67 ± 1.29 mg/ml. The feeding experiments revealed that rHLA represses dipeptidyl peptidase-IV (DPP-IV) activity in vivo. Furthermore, the piglets reared by rHLA transgenic cloned sows exhibit better performance in gain of body weight and intestine growth than the control piglets reared by non-transgenic sows. Therefore, these findings indicate that rHLA could serve as a natural precursor for a DPP-IV inhibitor, and the transgenic technology that produced the over-expression of rHLA could be a useful method for pig breeders to improve lactation performance.
authors.affiliation: The State Key Laboratory for Agro-biotechnology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Jin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: The State Key Laboratory for Agro-biotechnology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Qiuyan
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Beijing Genfucare Biotechnology Company, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Beijing Genfucare Biotechnology Company, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Xiao
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wen
authors.affiliation: Beijing Genfucare Biotechnology Company, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Zhiyuan
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: China Agricultural University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Zaihu
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: China Agricultural University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Jiuming
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: The State Key Laboratory for Agro-biotechnology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Zhengquan
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: The State Key Laboratory for Agro-biotechnology, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China. Electronic address: ninglcau@cau.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Ning
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D030801:Animals, Genetically Modified; D000833:Animals, Suckling; D018938:Caco-2 Cells; D019976:Cloning, Organism; D006801:Humans; D007422:Intestines / Q000254:growth & development*; D007768:Lactalbumin / Q000235:genetics*; D008892:Milk; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D013552:Swine / Q000254:growth & development*; D015430:Weight Gain
chemical_list: D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D007768:Lactalbumin
keywords: Dipeptidyl peptidase-IV inhibitory activity; Human α-lactalbumin; Piglet growth; Transgenic cloned pig