Chlorogenic acid improves growth performance of weaned rabbits via modulating the intestinal epithelium functions and intestinal microbiota.

This study was conducted to investigate the impacts of chlorogenic acid (CGA) on growth performance, intestinal permeability, intestinal digestion and absorption-related enzyme activities, immune responses, antioxidant capacity and cecum microbial composition in weaned rabbits. One hundred and sixty weaned rabbits were allotted to four treatment groups and fed with a basal diet or a basal diet supplemented with 400, 800, or 1,600 mg/kg CGA, respectively. After a 35-d trial, rabbits on the 800 mg/kg CGA-supplemented group had higher (p < 0.05) ADG and lower (p < 0.05) F/G than those in control (CON) group. According to the result of growth performance, eight rabbits per group were randomly selected from the CON group and 800 mg/kg CGA group to collect serum, intestinal tissue samples and cecum chyme samples. Results showed that compared with the CON group, supplementation with 800 mg/kg CGA decreased (p < 0.05) levels of D-lactate, diamine oxidase, IL-1ß, IL-6, and malondialdehyde (MDA), and increased IL-10 concentration in the serum; increased (p < 0.05) jejunal ratio of villus height to crypt depth, enhanced (p < 0.05) activities of maltase and sucrase, increased (p < 0.05) concentrations of IL-10, T-AOC, MHCII and transforming growth factor-α, and decreased (p < 0.05) levels of TNF-α and MDA in the jejunum of weaned rabbits. In addition, results of high-throughput sequencing showed that CGA supplementation elevated (p < 0.05) microbial diversity and richness, and increased (p < 0.05) the abundances of butyrate-producing bacteria (including genera V9D2013_group, Monoglobus, Papillibacter, UCG-005, and Ruminococcus). These results indicated that dietary supplementation with 800 mg/kg CGA could improve the growth performance of weaned rabbits by enhancing intestinal structural integrity, improving the intestinal epithelium functions, and modulating the composition and diversity of gut microbiota.

Vitamin A alleviates heat stress-induced damage to hair follicle development in Rex rabbits.

BACKGROUND: Rex rabbits are important fur rabbits. Heat stress severely reduces the fur quality of Rex rabbits. The aim of this study was to experimentally investigate the effect of dietary vitamin A (VA) addition on hair follicle development and related signal pathways in Rex rabbits under heat stress. RESULTS: In the experiment, 90 Rex rabbits were randomly divided into three groups: control group (20-25 °C, fed basic diet), heat stress group (30-34 °C, fed basic diet), and heat stress + VA group (20-25 °C, fed 12 000 IU/kg VA in addition to the basic diet). VA could significantly increase the hair follicle density (P < 0.01), hair length (P < 0.05), and the ratio of secondary to primary hair follicles (P < 0.05). In addition, VA could significantly inhibit the expression of BMP2, BMP4, FGF5, TGF-ß1, and miR-214 in heat-stressed Rex rabbits and significantly increase the expression of noggin, IGF1, IGF1R, Wnt10b, CTNNB1, SHH, and miR-203 and the levels of Wnt10b and p-ß-catenin; however, there was no significant effect of VA on the expression of EGF and miR-205. CONCLUSION: The dietary addition of VA can increase the hair follicle density and fur quality of heat-stressed Rex rabbits. Wnt10/ß-catenin, insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF1), fibroblast growth factor 5 (FGF5), noggin-BMP, and sonic hedgehog (SHH) signaling were associated with VA regulation under heat stress. It is possible that miR-205 and miR-194 contribute to the regulation of Wnt10/ß-catenin and bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) signaling. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry.

Mechanistic target of rapamycin and an extracellular signaling-regulated kinases 1 and 2 signaling participate in the process of acetate regulating lipid metabolism and hormone-sensitive lipase expression.

OBJECTIVE: Acetate plays an important role in host lipid metabolism. However, the network of acetate-regulated lipid metabolism remains unclear. Previous studies show that mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) and mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) play a crucial role in lipid metabolism. We hypothesize that acetate could affect MAPKs and/or mTOR signaling and then regulate lipid metabolism. The present study investigated whether any cross talk occurs among MAPKs, mTOR and acetate in regulating lipid metabolism. METHODS: The ceramide C6 (an extracellular signaling-regulated kinases 1 and 2 [ERK1/2] activator) and MHY1485 (a mTOR activator) were used to treat rabbit adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) with or without acetate, respectively. RESULTS: It indicated that acetate (9 mM) treatment for 48 h decreased the lipid deposition in rabbit ADSCs. Acetate treatment decreased significantly phosphorylated protein levels of ERK1/2 and mTOR but significantly increased mRNA level of hormone-sensitive lipase (HSL). Acetate treatment did not significantly alter the phosphorylated protein level of p38 MAPK and c-Jun aminoterminal kinase (JNK). Activation of ERK1/2 and mTOR by respective addition in media with ceramide C6 and MHY1485 significantly attenuated decreased lipid deposition and increased HSL expression caused by acetate. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that ERK1/2 and mTOR signaling pathways are associated with acetate regulated HSL gene expression and lipid deposition.

Acetate stimulates lipogenesis via AMPKα signaling in rabbit adipose-derived stem cells.

Acetate plays an important role in host lipid metabolism. However, the regulatory network underlying acetate-regulated lipometabolism remains unclear. The aim of this study was to determine whether any cross talk occurs among adenosine 5'-monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK), mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) and acetate in regulating lipid metabolism. The compound C (an AMPK inhibitor), and SB203580 (a p38 MAPK inhibitor) were used to treat rabbit adipose-derived stem cells (ADSCs) with or without acetate, respectively. It indicated that acetate (6 mM) for 6 h increased the lipid deposition in rabbit ADSCs. Besides, acetate treatment (6 mM) increased significantly phosphorylated protein level of AMPKα and p38 MAPK, but not altered significantly the phosphorylated protein level of extracellular signaling-regulated kinase (ERK) and c-Jun aminoterminal kinase (JNK). The blocking of AMPKα signaling attenuated acetate-induced lipid accumulation, but not that of p38 MAPK signaling. In conclusion, our findings suggest that AMPKα signaling pathway is associated with acetate-induced lipogenesis.

Enhanced antimicrobial activity and pH-responsive sustained release of chitosan/poly (vinyl alcohol)/graphene oxide nanofibrous membrane loading with allicin.

Herein, the natural extract of garlic, allicin (Alli), was added into chitosan (CS)/polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)/graphene oxide (GO) composites to develop the nanofibrous membranes with strong antibacterial activity and sustained-release properties by electrospinning technology. Vitro Alli release test showed that the release rate and amount of Alli could be regulated by the content of GO in the nanofibrous membrane. The antibacterial activity test against Staphylococcus aureus was performed and revealed the antibacterial activity of nanofibrous membranes loading with Alli. Compared with the nanofibrous membrane without GO, the CS/PVA/Alli nanofibrous membrane with 0.1 wt% GO still had nice antibacterial activity after 48 h. The water contact angle of nanofibrous membranes dropped significantly with the addition of GO and Alli, which showed the nanofibrous membrane had highly hydrophobic. The CS/PVA/GO nanofibrous membrane loading with Alli had great hygroscopicity and moisture-retention capacity. The essential characteristics of nanofibrous membranes were evaluated by SEM, FTIR, XRD. The above results indicate that the membrane has a strong antimicrobial activity and long-lasting efficacy, so the developed natural nanofibrous membranes hold potential as promising antibacterial wound dressing and tissue engineering.

Dietary addition of garlic straw improved the intestinal barrier in rabbits1.

Weanling rabbits frequently exhibit diarrhea or flatulence. Our experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of garlic straw on the performance and intestinal barrier of rabbits. Hyla rabbits (60 d, n = 160) with similar body weight were divided into 4 groups (4 replicates per group and 10 rabbits per replicate): fed a basal diet (control) or fed an experimental diet with 5%, 10%, or 15% garlic straw powder supplement. The results showed that the dietary addition of garlic straw increased significantly the average daily gain and average daily feed intake. Compared with the control, dietary addition of 10% and 15% garlic straw decreased significantly the death rate of rabbit. Rabbits in 10% garlic straw group had a higher secretory immunoglobulins A and immunoglobulins G concentration in jejunum and ileum than control while lower tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα) concentration in jejunum. Compared with the control, dietary addition of 10% garlic straw increased significantly genes expression of zonula occluden protein 2 (ZO2) in jejunum and ileum and mucin4 in ileum while did not alter the genes expression of junctional adhesion molecule 2 (JAM2), JAM3, ZO1, occluding, claudin1, mucin1, mucin6, and toll-like receptor 4 in jejunum and ileum and mucin4 in jejunum. In conclusion, dietary supplement of garlic straw modulates immune responses and enhances intestinal barrier, meanwhile inhibits the synthesis of pro-inflammatory cytokine of TNFα. Besides, our experiment offers positive evidence in improving rabbit health of garlic instead of antibiotics.

Advanced binder-free electrodes based on CoMn2O4@Co3O4 core/shell nanostructures for high-performance supercapacitors.

Three-dimensional (3D) hierarchical CoMn2O4@Co3O4 core/shell nanoneedle/nanosheet arrays for high-performance supercapacitors were designed and synthesized on Ni foam by a two-step hydrothermal route. The hybrid nanostructure exhibits much more excellent capacitive behavior compared with either the pristine CoMn2O4 nanoneedle arrays alone or Co3O4 nanosheets alone. The formation of an interconnected pore hybrid system is quite beneficial for the facile electrolyte penetration and fast electron transport. The CoMn2O4@Co3O4 electrode can achieve a high specific capacitance of 1627 F g-1 at 1 A g-1 and 1376 F g-1 at 10 A g-1. In addition, an asymmetric supercapacitor (ASC) was assembled by using the CoMn2O4@Co3O4 core/shell hybrid nanostructure arrays on Ni foam as a positive electrode and activated carbon as a negative electrode in an aqueous 3 M KOH electrolyte. A specific capacitance of 125.8 F g-1 at 1 A g-1 (89.2% retention after 5000 charge/discharge cycles at a current density of 2 A g-1) and a high energy density of 44.8 W h kg-1 was obtained. The results indicate that the obtained unique integrated CoMn2O4@Co3O4 nanoarchitecture may show great promise as ASC electrodes for potential applications in energy storage.