Feeding of Lactobacillus sobrius reduces Escherichia coli F4 levels in the gut and promotes growth of infected piglets.

The microbial community in the guts of mammals is often seen as an important potential target in therapeutic and preventive interventions. The aim of the present study was to determine whether enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) F4 infection in young animals might be counteracted by a probiotic treatment with Lactobacillus sobrius DSM 16698. The experiment was conducted in three randomized consecutive replications, each consisting of 16 piglets, and including a control group and an L. sobrius fed group, both experimentally challenged with ETEC. During the entire trial, the animals' health status, body weight, and microbial parameters were monitored periodically. Probiotic supplementation containing L. sobrius significantly reduced the levels of ETEC in the ileum when fed directly to piglets after weaning. In contrast, the number of days when the piglets had an increased faecal water content was significantly higher in the probiotic group. Nevertheless, an improved daily weight gain was also observed in the animals that received probiotic L. sobrius relative to the control fed group. The data indicate that L. sobrius may be effective in the reduction of the E. coli F4 colonization and may improve the weight gain of infected piglets.

A continuous dietary supply of free calcium formate negatively affects the parietal cell population and gastric RNA expression for H+/K+-ATPase in weaning pigs.

Baby formula acidification can be used to reduce diarrhea. Calcium formate is a dietary acidifier frequently used in animal weaning diets; it is also a source of available calcium. Gastric acidification reduces gastrin release and hydrochloric acid (HCl) secretion. To study the medium-term effects on fundic gastric mucosa, we fed weaning pigs control diets or diets supplemented with free or fat-protected calcium formate. We evaluated the following: 1) the number of HCl-secreting parietal cells, by immunohistochemistry using an antibody against H(+)/K(+)-ATPase; 2) the number of enteroendocrine cells immunohistochemically stained with chromogranin A (CGA), somatostatin, and histamine (HIS); and 3) the expression of the H(+)/K(+)-ATPase gene, by real-time RT-PCR in the oxyntic mucosa. Cells co-staining for CGA and HIS were defined as enterochromaffin-like (ECL) cells. Pigs fed calcium formate had fewer parietal cells and a lower expression of the H(+)/K(+)-ATPase gene than the controls (P < 0.05). This reduction did not occur in pigs fed fat-protected calcium formate. Somatostatin immune-reactive cells were also more numerous in pigs fed free calcium formate than in controls (P < 0.05). The number of ECL cells was not affected. Using covariance analysis, the number of parietal cells explained part of the differences in the expression of H(+)/K(+)-ATPase gene (positive correlation, r = 0.385, P < 0.01), and excluded the statistical significance of the diet. In the future, the effects on the oxyntic mucosa should be checked when the diet supplemented with calcium formate is discontinued. Furthermore, a reduction in the number of parietal cells could impair the absorption of vitamin B-12 due to a reduced secretion of the intrinsic factor by these cells.