Acta Veterinaria et Zootechnica Sinica ›› 2020, Vol. 51 ›› Issue (7): 1628-1636.doi: 10.11843/j.issn.0366-6964.2020.07.015

• ANIMAL NUTRITION AND FEEDS • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Effects of Dietary Dihydroartemisinin Supplementation on Insulin Level and Liver Development in Intrauterine Growth Retardation Weaned Piglets

ZHAO Yongwei, NIU Yu, HE Jintian, ZHANG Lili, WANG Chao, WANG Tian*   

  1. College of Animal Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China
  • Received:2020-02-13 Online:2020-07-25 Published:2020-07-22

Abstract: In this study we aimed to investigate the effects of intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) on insulin levels and hepatic development in weaned piglets, and the repairing effect of dietary supplementation with 80 mg·kg-1 dihydroartemisinin (DHA). Ten piglets with normal birth weight (NBW) and 20 IUGR piglets were selected and fed either a basal diet (NBW and IUGR groups, 10 piglets in each gorup) or the basal diet supplemented with 80 mg·kg-1 DHA (IUGR-DHA group, 10 piglets) for 29 days from 21 to 49 d of age. Compared with NBW group, IUGR group significantly decreased the serum content of fasting glucose (FBG) and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) and the hepatic weight (P<0.05), and significantly increased the content of fasting insulin (FINS) and homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) values and hepatic index (P<0.05). At the same time, the morphology and structure of the hepatic tissue in IUGR weaned piglets were damaged, there was obvious vacuolation, and organelle structure was damaged, mitochondria and endoplasmic reticulum were significantly swollen, and the nucleus was seriously deformed. Compared with IUGR group, IUGR-DHA group significantly increased the hepatic weight and IGF-1 content in the serum (P<0.05). The serum content of FINS and HOMA-IR values were significantly decreased (P<0.05). In addition, the morphology and structure of liver tissue were significantly improved. Compared with NBW group, IUGR group significantly downregulated the relative mRNA expression of IGF-1, insulin receptor substrate 1 (IRS1), phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) and protein kinase B (AKT2) (P<0.05) in liver. Compared with IUGR group, IUGR-DHA group significantly upregulated the relative mRNA expression of IRS1 and AKT2 in the liver of IUGR weaned piglets (P<0.05). The results showed that DHA had a certain repairing effect on insulin resistance and hepatic development damage of weaned piglets caused by IUGR. This study provides a theoretical basis for the early treatment of IUGR and the promotion and application of DHA in livestock production.

Key words: dihydroartemisinin, intrauterine growth retardation, liver, insulin resistance

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