Zearalenone Exposure Triggered Cecal Physical Barrier Injury through the TGF-β1/Smads Signaling Pathway in Weaned Piglets

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the effects of exposure to different dosages of zearalenone (ZEA) on cecal physical barrier functions and its mechanisms based on the TGF-β1/Smads signaling pathway in weaned piglets. Thirty-two weaned piglets were allotted to four groups and fed a basal diet supplemented with ZEA at 0, 0.15, 1.5, and 3.0 mg/kg, respectively. The results showed that 1.5 and 3.0 mg/kg ZEA damaged cecum morphology and microvilli, and changed distribution and shape of M cells. Moreover, 1.5 and 3.0 mg/kg ZEA decreased numbers of goblet cells, the expressions of TFF3 and tight junction proteins, and inhibited the TGF-β1/Smads signaling pathway. Interestingly, the 0.15 mg/kg ZEA had no significant effect on cecal physical barrier functions but decreased the expressions of Smad3, p-Smad3 and Smad7. Our study suggests that high-dose ZEA exposure impairs cecal physical barrier functions through inhibiting the TGF-β1/Smads signaling pathway, but low-dose ZEA had no significant effect on cecum morphology and integrity through inhibiting the expression of smad7. These findings provide a scientific basis for helping people explore how to reduce the toxicity of ZEA in feeds.

Supplementation with paraformic acid in the diet improved intestinal development through modulating intestinal inflammation and microbiota in broiler chickens

“…Primer sequences used for real-time PCR in this study are shown in Supplementary Table 2 . The detailed procedure of the relative mRNA expression determination was described in Zhang P. et al (2021) . The β-actin gene was amplified in parallel as the internal control for gene normalization and quantification.…”

Tannic Acid Extracted from Galla chinensis Supplementation in the Diet Improves Intestinal Development through Suppressing Inflammatory Responses via Blockage of NF-κB in Broiler Chickens

“…The mucosa mRNA expression levels of tight junction proteins [(ZO-1, occludin (OCLN), claudin 2 (CLDN2), and claudin 3 (CLDN3)], nutrient transporters [(glucose transporter type 2 (GLUT2), Na+/glucose cotransporter (SGLT1), y+L amino acid transporter 1 (y+LAT1), cationic amino acid transporter 1 (CAT1), and fatty acid binding protein-1 (FABP1)], and inflammatory pathway genes [(Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), myeloid differentiation primary response 88 (MyD88), and nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB)] in intestinal samples were determined using a CFX-96 real-time PCR detection system (Bio-Rad, Hercules, CA, USA). The primer sequences used for real-time PCR and detailed procedure of the relative mRNA expression determination in this study refer to previous studies [ 17 , 19 ]. The β-actin gene was amplified in parallel as the internal control for gene normalization and quantification.…”

Quantitative Proteomic Analysis of Zearalenone Exposure on Uterine Development in Weaned Gilts

“…The uterus tissue was dehydrated successively in ethanol (60%, 70%, 80%, 90%, 95%, and 100%) and xylene solutions for 1.5 h, after fixation in 4% paraformaldehyde for 48 h. Subsequently, it was embedded in the paraffin wax, and cut to a 4-μm section that was mounted on a poly-L-lysine-coated glass slide using Leica RM 2235 microtome (Leica, Wetzlar, Germany), according to the methods of Zhang et al [ 78 ]. The sections of uterus were stained with hematoxylin and eosin, and sealed with neutral resin.…”