Acta Veterinaria et Zootechnica Sinica ›› 2022, Vol. 53 ›› Issue (9): 3052-3062.doi: 10.11843/j.issn.0366-6964.2022.09.021

• ANIMAL NUTRITION AND FEEDS • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Effects of H2S Exposure on Redox Status and Hydrogen Sulfide Metabolism in Nursery Pigs

CHEN Lei1, LIU Zhen1, XIE Yanjiao1, MIAO Qixiang2, LUO Chengzeng1,3, ZHANG Hongfu1, TANG Xiangfang1*   

  1. 1. State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, Institute of Animal Science, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China;
    2. College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730020, China;
    3. College of Animal Science, Xinjiang Agricultural University, Urumqi 830052, China
  • Received:2021-11-18 Online:2022-09-23 Published:2022-09-23

Abstract: This study aimed to investigate the effects of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) exposure on redox status and endogenous H2S metabolism in nursery pigs. Twelve 35-day-old healthy Large White pigs with similar body weight ((11.61±1.51) kg) were randomly divided into two artificial environmental cabins with 6 pigs in each group, half male and half female per group. Pigs in the experimental group were exposed to 30 mg·m-3 H2S for 28 days, while pigs in the control group were kept without H2S. Serum and liver samples were collected from each pig at the end of the experiment to detect the indexes related to redox and H2S metabolism. The results showed that compared with the control group:1) In serum, the content of ROS increased extremely significantly (P<0.01) and MDA increased significantly (P<0.05); The activity of the antioxidant enzyme T-SOD decreased significantly (P<0.05), the activity of CAT and GPX decreased extremely significantly (P<0.01); The contents of non-enzymatic antioxidant GSH and GSSG did not change significantly (P>0.05). 2) In liver, the activities of T-SOD and GPX increased extremely significantly (P<0.01); the ability of scavenging ·OH improved significantly (P<0.05); The contents of ROS, H2O2, PC, MDA, GSH and GSSG showed no significant difference (P>0.05). 3) In liver, the mRNA expression of Keap1 was significantly down-regulated (P<0.05) and Nrf2 was significantly up-regulated (P<0.05); The mRNA expression of the antioxidant-related gene (SOD2, GPX1, GPX2, GPX4 and GSR) were significantly up-regulated (P<0.05). 4) The concentration of H2S in serum and liver decreased significantly (P<0.05); The mRNA expressions of endogenous H2S synthase CSE and CBS in the liver were significantly down-regulated (P<0.05) while that of 3-MST was not significantly different (P>0.05), and the mRNA expressions of H2S catabolic enzyme SQR and SUOX showed no significant change either (P>0.05). The results indicated that 30 mg·m-3 H2S exposure caused damage to the serum antioxidant system of nursery pigs, but the activation of the Nrf2/Keap1 signaling pathway in liver protected the liver from oxidative damage. In addition, H2S exposure inhibited the anabolism of endogenous H2S in nursery pigs.

Key words: hydrogen sulfide (H2S), nursery pigs, redox status, metabolism

CLC Number: