title: Effects of dietary leucine supplementation on the hepatic mitochondrial biogenesis and energy metabolism in normal birth weight and intrauterine growth-retarded weanling piglets.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The study was conducted to evaluate the effects of dietary leucine supplementation on mitochondrial biogenesis and energy metabolism in the liver of normal birth weight (NBW) and intrauterine growth-retarded (IUGR) weanling piglets.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of sixteen pairs of NBW and IUGR piglets from sixteen sows were selected according to their birth weight. At postnatal day 14, all piglets were weaned and fed either a control diet or a leucine-supplemented diet for 21 d. Thereafter, a 2 × 2 factorial experimental design was used. Each treatment consisted of eight replications with one piglet per replication.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Compared with NBW piglets, IUGR piglets had a decreased (P< 0.05) hepatic adenosine triphosphate (ATP) content. Also, IUGR piglets exhibited reductions (P< 0.05) in the activities of hepatic mitochondrial pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH), citrate synthase (CS), α-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase (α-KGDH), malate dehydrogenase (MDH), and complexes I and V, along with decreases (P< 0.05) in the concentration of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and the protein expression of hepatic peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ coactivator 1α (PGC-1α). Dietary leucine supplementation increased (P< 0.05) the content of ATP, and the activities of CS, α-KGDH, MDH, and complex V in the liver of piglets. Furthermore, compared to those fed a control diet, piglets given a leucine-supplemented diet exhibited increases (P< 0.05) in the mtDNA content and in the mRNA expressions of sirtuin 1, PGC-1α, nuclear respiratory factor 1, mitochondrial transcription factor A, and ATP synthase, H+transporting, mitochondrial F1 complex, β polypeptide in liver.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Dietary leucine supplementation may exert beneficial effects on mitochondrial biogenesis and energy metabolism in NBW and IUGR weanling piglets.
authors.affiliation: College of Animal Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Weigang 1, Nanjing, 210095, China.
authors.forename: Weipeng
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Su
authors.affiliation: College of Animal Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Weigang 1, Nanjing, 210095, China.
authors.forename: Wen
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: College of Animal Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Weigang 1, Nanjing, 210095, China.
authors.forename: Hao
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: College of Animal Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Weigang 1, Nanjing, 210095, China.
authors.forename: Zhixiong
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Ying
authors.affiliation: College of Animal Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Weigang 1, Nanjing, 210095, China.
authors.forename: Le
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: College of Animal Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Weigang 1, Nanjing, 210095, China.
authors.forename: Lili
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: College of Animal Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Weigang 1, Nanjing, 210095, China.
authors.forename: Tian
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wang
keywords: Leucine; energy metabolism; intrauterine growth retardation; mitochondrial biogenesis; weanling piglets