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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Beltsville, Maryland (BARC) » Beltsville Agricultural Research Center » Animal Biosciences & Biotechnology Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #327610
Title: Normal birth weight piglets with impaired preweaning growth utilize alternative metabolic pathways in the liver

Author
item Ramsay, Timothy
item Stoll, Margo
item Blomberg, Le Ann
item CAPERNA, THOMAS - Retired ARS Employee

Submitted to: American Society of Animal Science Annual Meeting
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/24/2016
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: The present study was designed to determine if normal weight pigs that grow poorly during the pre-weaning period have altered hepatic metabolism, as reported for intrauterine growth retarded pigs. Eight pairs of average birth weight pigs (1.57 +/- 0.05 kg) were identified that diverged in weight by a minimum of 50 g/day until weaning (21 days), when livers were collected for analysis. No changes with growth rate were detected in liver enzyme activity per mg tissue protein for enzymes in glycolysis, lipogenesis or the pentose phosphate shunt (P > 0.05). Liver glycogen content was similar between control and slow growing piglets (P > 0.05). The mRNA abundance for the two genes regulating peroxisomal fatty acid oxidation (acyl CoA oxidase 1 and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor a), superoxide dismutase 2, lactate dehydrogenase, insulin-like growth factor 2 (IGF2), IGF binding protein 2 (IGFBP2) and IGFBP3 were increased in the liver of the slow growing piglet relative to liver of piglets experiencing normal growth (P < 0.05 for these gene products), as measured by real-time quantitative PCR. Metabolomic analysis of the liver tissue from these slow growing piglets confirmed an increase in mono- and dihydroxy- fatty acids indicative of increased lipid peroxidation and oxidative stress relative to liver from control littermates (p < 0.05). These data indicate that the slow growing piglet utilizes alternative pathways for fatty acid oxidation during the preweaning period which may be a predictor for poor postnatal growth in the pig or a target for treatment to improve growth.