Dietary addition of Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG impairs the health of Escherichia coli F4-challenged piglets

Abstract

Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (LGG) is a probiotic for humans and is normally not found in pigs; however, it has been shown to protect the human-derived intestinal Caco-2 cells against the damage induced by an important intestinal pathogen, enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli F4 (ETEC). An experiment was conducted to test whether the dietary addition of LGG improves the growth and health of weaned pigs when orally challenged by E. coli F4. Thirty-six pigs were weaned at 21 days and assigned to a standard weaning diet with or without 10 10 CFU LGG (ATCC 53103) per day. The pigs, individually penned, were orally challenged with 1.5 ml of a 10 10 CFU E. coli F4 suspension on day 7 and slaughtered on day 12 or 14. With the addition of LGG, the average daily gain and the average daily feed intake were reduced after the challenge with ETEC and for the entire trial ( P , 0.05). The average faecal score tended to worsen from day 11 to the end of the trial and the concentration of ETEC in the faeces tended to increase ( P 5 0.07) with the LGG supplementation. The counts of lactic acid bacteria, enterobacteria and yeasts in the colonic digesta were not affected. The pH values in ileal, colonic and caecal digesta, and the small intestine size were also unchanged. Regardless of the site of measurement (duodenum, jejunum or ileum), a trend of decreased villus height was seen with LGG ( P 5 0.10). Crypt depth and villus to crypt ratio were unchanged by the diet. A gradual increase of total seric IgA was seen after 1 week and after the challenge, in the control ( P , 0.05), but not in the treated group. After the challenge, the LGG reduced the total IgA in the blood serum ( P , 0.05), v. the control. The total IgA in the saliva and in the jejunum secretion were not affected by the diet. The F4-specific IgA activity was not affected by the diet at all the samplings. Our result shows that, the administration of LGG do not prevent or reduce the detrimental effect of the E. coli F4 infection on the growth performance and health status of weaned piglet.

Characterization of Haemorrhagic Enteritis in Dairy Goats and the Effectiveness of Probiotic and Prebiotic Applications in Alleviating Morbidity and Production Losses

“…For example, a host Lactobacillus strain reduces STEC shedding in beef cattle, but does not affect performance [41], while a host Lactobacillus strain reduced pig performance after an E. coli F4 challenge which resulted in greater E. coli F4 shedding [42]. Adding to this confusion, non-host probiotics and prebiotics increase milk production [43], alleviate disease [3,4] and decrease pathogen shedding [44], but the responses are quite variable.…”

Oral Administration of Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG Ameliorates Salmonella Infantis-Induced Inflammation in a Pig Model via Activation of the IL-22BP/IL-22/STAT3 Pathway

“…can alleviate disease signs of S . Typhimurium infection in weaned pigs (Casey et al, 2007), but several clinical trials have reported risks associated with LGG administration (Trevisi et al, 2011; Doron and Snydman, 2015). However, the exact mechanism underlying the activity of LGG against pathogenic microorganisms and its regulation of immune responses during Salmonella infection is poorly understood.…”

Effect of a multispecies lactobacillus formulation as a feeding supplement on the performance and immune function of piglets

“…Restoration of a balanced gut microbiota through the application of probiotic microbes could help to prevent the development of GI infections around weaning. Beneficial effects of bacterial supplementation have been reported in enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) and Salmonella challenge studies in pigs (Casey et al, 2007;Konstantinov et al, 2008;Lee et al, 2012), albeit not all studies have reported favorable outcomes (Trevisi et al, 2011;Kreuzer et al, 2012;Walsh et al, 2012).…”