Vitamin A Ameliorated Irinotecan-Induced Diarrhea in a Piglet Model Involving Enteric Glia Modulation and Immune Cells Infiltration.

Vitamin A (VA) and its metabolite, retinoic acid (RA), play important roles in modulating intestinal mucosal immunity, yet little is known about their regulatory effects on enteric nervous system function. The study aims to explore the protective effects of dietary VA on diarrhea in a piglet model involving enteric glia and immune cell modulation. Twenty-eight weaned piglets were fed either the basal or VA (basal diet supplemented with 18,000 IU/kg VA) diet and with or without irinotecan (CPT-11) injection. CPT-11 induced increased diarrhea incidence, immune infiltration, and reactive enteric gliosis. A diet supplemented with 18,000 IU/kg VA ameliorated the adverse effects of CPT-11 on the gut barrier. VA reduced diarrhea incidence and attenuated enteric glial gliosis, immune cell infiltrations, and inflammatory responses of CPT-induced piglets. An in vitro experiment with 1 nmol/L RA showed direct protective effects on monocultures of enteric glial cells (EGCs) or macrophages in LPS-simulated inflammatory conditions. Furthermore, 1 ng/mL glial-derived neurotropic factors (GDNF) could inhibit M1-macrophage polarization and pro-inflammatory cytokines production. In summary, VA exerted protective effects on the intestinal barrier by modulating enteric glia and immune cells, perhaps enhancing epithelial recovery under CPT-11 challenge. Our study demonstrated that RA signaling might promote the roles of enteric glia in intestinal immunity and tissue repair, which provided a reference for the VA supplementation of patient diets.

The Evaluation of the Antioxidant and Intestinal Protective Effects of Baicalin-Copper in Deoxynivalenol-Challenged Piglets.

The present study was performed to evaluate the antioxidant and intestinal protective effects of baicalin-copper on deoxynivalenol-challenged piglets. Forty weaned piglets were randomly divided into four groups and assigned to different diets: (1) basal diet (Con), (2) 4 mg/kg deoxynivalenol of basal diet (DON), (3) 5 g/kg baicalin-copper of basal diet (BCU); and (4) 4 mg/kg deoxynivalenol + 5 g/kg baicalin-copper of basal diet (DBCU). The results showed that the ADFI and ADG of piglets in the DON group were markedly lower than those in the Con group, but the ADFI and ADG of the DBCU group were not significantly different from those of the Con group. In piglets fed a DON-contaminated diet, dietary supplementation with BCU significantly decreased the mRNA levels of P70S6K, 4E-BP1, and HSP70 in the liver, the protein expression of HO-1 in the jejunum, and the expression of p-Nrf2 and p-NF-κB in the ileum but increased Mn-SOD activity in serum. Dietary supplementation with BCU increased jejunal maltase, ZIP4 and MT mRNA levels, and serum concentrations of Arg, Val, Ile, Leu, Lys, and Tyr in DON-contaminated piglets. In summary, BCU can alleviate the growth impairment induced by DON and enhance antioxidant capacity and nutrition absorption in piglets fed DON-contaminated diets.

The Evaluation of Antioxidant and Anti-Inflammatory Effects of Eucommia ulmoides Flavones Using Diquat-Challenged Piglet Models.

This study was designed to evaluate the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects of Eucommia ulmoides flavones (EUF) using diquat-challenged piglet models. A total of 96 weaned piglets were randomly allotted to 1 of 3 treatments with 8 replication pens per treatment and 4 piglets per pen. The treatments were basal diet, basal diet + diquat, and 100 mg/kg EUF diet + diquat. On day 7 after the initiation of treatment, the piglets were injected intraperitoneally with diquat at 8 mg/kg BW or the same amount of sterilized saline. The experiment was conducted for 21 days. EUF supplementation improved the growth performance of diquat-treated piglets from day 14 to 21. Diquat also induced oxidative stress and inflammatory responses and then impaired intestinal morphology. But EUF addition alleviated these negative effects induced by diquat that showed decreasing serum concentrations of proinflammatory cytokines but increasing antioxidant indexes and anti-inflammatory cytokines on day 14. Supplementation of EUF also increased villi height and villous height, crypt depth, but decreased the histopathological score and MPO activity compared with those of diquat-challenged pigs fed with the basal diet on day 14. Results indicated that EUF attenuated the inflammation and oxidative stress of piglets caused by diquat injection.

[Effects of total favonoids of Ecommia umoides on atioxidant aility of imune ogans in lead poisoning mice].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the effects of total flavonoids of Eucommia ulmoides on antioxidant ability of immune organs in lead poisoning mice. METHODS: Fifty male mice were randomly divided into 5 groups, normal control group, lead group, positive control group, the total flavonoids of Eucommia ulmoides groups( 200, 50 mg / kg). The lead poisoning model was established by peritoneally injecting mice with 70 mg / kg lead acetate every day for 8 days. After the total flavonoids of Eucommia ulmoides was gavaged for 14 days, mice were sacrificed and immediately subjected to necropsy. The concentration of lead in blood, spleen and thymus were determined. The spleen and thymus index and the content of T-SOD、GSH-Px、T-AOC and MDA of spleen and thymus in mice were assayed. RESULTS: Intraperitoneal injection of 70 mg / kg lead acetate for 8 consecutive days could cause an immunity decline in lead poisoning mice, the total flavonoids of Eucommiaulmoides could significantly improve the immunity of lead poisoning mice. After the total flavonoids of Eucommia ulmoides was gavaged for 14 days, the viscera index in mice induced by lead acetate was significantly improve( P < 0. 01). Compared with lead group, the total flavonoids of Eucommia ulmoides( 200 mg / kg) could significantly reduce the lead contents in blood, spleen and thymus and improve the activities of T-SOD、GSH-Px、TAOC and reduce the content of MDA of mouse spleen and thymus( P < 0. 01), while there were no significant changes in concentrations of the lead contents in blood, spleen and thymus in the total flavonoids of Eucommia ulmoides( 50 mg / kg) treatment group. But the total flavonoids of Eucommia ulmoides( 50 mg / kg) could increase the activities of T-SOD、GSH-Px、T-AOC and reduce the content of MDA of mouse spleen and thymus in different degree. CONCLUSION: The total flavonoids of Eucommia ulmoides can effectively improve the antioxidant ability of immune organs in mice induced by lead acetate.