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ARS Home » Plains Area » Lubbock, Texas » Cropping Systems Research Laboratory » Livestock Issues Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #419250
Research Project: Environmental and Management Influences on Animal Productivity and Well-Being Phenotypes

Location: Livestock Issues Research

Title: A pre- and postnatal immune challenge influences muscle growth and metabolism in weaned pigs

Author
item DOBBINS, THOMAS - Texas Tech University
item FUERNISS, LUKE - Texas Tech University
item HERNANDEZ, MANUEL - Texas Tech University
item JOHNSON, BRADLEY - Texas Tech University
item PETRY, AMY - University Of Missouri
item Broadway, Paul
item Sanchez, Nicole
item LEGAKO, JERRAD - Texas Tech University

Submitted to: Journal of Animal Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/1/2024
Publication Date: 12/6/2025
Citation: Dobbins, T.W., Fuerniss, L.K., Hernandez, M.S., Johnson, B.J., Petry, A.L., Broadway, P.R., Sanchez, N.C., Legako, J.F. 2025. A pre- and postnatal immune challenge influences muscle growth and metabolism in weaned pigs. Journal of Animal Science. 102. https://doi.org/10.1093/jas/skae350.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/jas/skae350

Interpretive Summary: During pregnancy, any influence, either positive or negative, may cause changes to growth in the offspring. Scientists in Lubbock, Texas and university collaborators, studied the impact of prenatal immune stimulation on muscle and liver in offspring in pigs. Results found offspring from sows exposed to immune stimulation had differences in muscle features but not muscle weight. Also, there were changes in energy and protein metabolism within the muscle. However, no differences in metabolism were found in the liver. These data suggest that there is a potential for altered growth in offspring from sows exposed to immune stimulation. Study results will be of interest to researchers in the fields of immunology and physiology, as well as swine producers.

Technical Abstract: The in-utero environment is key to both fetal and postnatal growth and development. The objective of this study was to determine if administration of an acute low-dose lipopolysaccharide (LPS) to gestating sows during mid to late gestation would alter the offsprings metabolomic profile of the liver, longissimus dorsi (LD), and muscle ultrastructure. Pregnant Camborough sows were randomly assigned to receive LPS (LPS; n= 7) at a dose of 2.5 µg/kg or saline (CON; n = 7) on 78 ± 1.8 d of gestation. At weaning (21 ± 1.3 d of age), barrows (CON n = 17; LPS n = 17) from each treatment received a secondary LPS dose. After the postnatal LPS dose, barrows (31 ± 1.3 d of age) were euthanized, and each LD was removed. The left LD was utilized for morphometric measurements. Two samples from the medial section of the right LD were preserved for immunohistochemical measurements and metabolomic analyses. Mass spectral data were deconvoluted, aligned, and annotated using MS-DIAL. Prior to analyses, intensity data were median normalized, log10 transformed, and auto-scaled. Univariate and multivariate analyses were conducted using MetaboAnalyst. Pathway analysis was conducted and compared to the Homo sapiens pathway library. Morphometric and immunohistochemical measurements were analyzed using the MIXED procedure of SAS version 9.4. Significance for all analyses was declared at P = 0.05 and tendencies were considered at P = 0.10. Average diameter of myosin heavy chain (MHC) type I and IIB/X fibers was increased (P = 0.048) in LPS offspring compared with CON. Average cross-sectional area was increased (P = 0.030) in MHC IIB/X fibers and tended to be increased (P = 0.080) in MHC I fibers of LPS offspring. The calculated number of myofibers within the LD was increased (P = 0.032) in CON compared with LPS piglets. There were no differences (P = 0.186) between treatment groups for total nuclei or nuclei positive for MYF5, PAX7, or MYF5 and PAX7 nuclei. Metabolomic analyses identified 14 differentially expressed (P < 0.05) metabolites in the LD between treatment groups. There were 10 metabolites within the LD that tended (P = 0.096) to differ between treatment groups. However, there were no differences (P > 0.05) in the metabolome of the liver between CON and LPS offspring. Thus, this study shows that in-utero immune stimulation using LPS in gestating sows and a subsequent LPS challenge postnatally alters the metabolomic profile and muscle ultrastructure of weaned pigs.