Human milk oligosaccharide supplementation did not affect gut development in the healthy neonatal piglet
Background: Intrauterine growth restricted (IUGR) is a category of infants that are born underweight for their gestational age due to nutrient deficiency in the womb. They are at a higher risk for a variety of health issues later in life, which can be exacerbated if the infant is not breast-fed. Breast milk is superior to infant formula in multiple ways, one of the advantages being the human milk oligosaccharide (HMO) content. HMO is beneficial for the immune health of the baby and cultivating a healthy gut microbiota population. It also has the ability to modulate gut function, but its effects in the gut of the healthy IUGR piglet are largely unknown. Objective: To investigate the effect of supplementation of HMOs in piglet formula on gut development in IUGR piglets. Methods: Appropriate for gestational age (AGA) and IUGR sex- and litter-paired piglets were weaned and taken on postnatal day (PD) 1. A subset of piglets was euthanized immediately for tissue sample collection and others were assigned to control or experimental diet. The control group was given standard piglet milk replacer, while the test group was given the same milk replacer with 0.351g per kg of body weight of 2’fucosyllactose (2’FL). Gastric and intestinal samples were harvested on PD1, PD14, and PD28 and analyzed with immunohistochemistry. Villus and crypt lengths were measured in the small intestinal sections, and mucosal thickness was measured in the large intestinal sections. Chromogranin A, serotonin and somatostatin densities were quantified in the stomach and small intestine. Results: Body weight gain was not affected by diet. AGA birth weight piglets had higher absolute weight gain while IUGR piglets had higher proportional weight gain. 2’-FL was not found to improve villi or crypt length in any segment of the small intestine nor mucosal height in any part of the large intestine. Chromogranin A abundance in the stomach was not enhanced by 2’FL either. IUGR status was also found to have very few significant effects on the intestinal development of the piglets. Conclusion: Overall, we found few differences in the AGA and IUGR piglets and the groups fed supplemented and control formula, suggesting that 2’-FL has little effect on gut health in piglets in terms of morphological growth and enteroendocrine cell development. Because so few differences were found between AGA and IUGR piglets, it is concluded that not all IUGR piglets have a disadvantage in terms of gut development. It is difficult to definitively conclude whether 2’-FL potentially may have had a positive effect on gut development because there seemed to be lack of an impairment in the IUGR cohort.
Human milk oligosaccharides, piglets, gut development
University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign
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University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign