AUTHOR=Huang Caiyun , Ming Dongxu , Wang Wenhui , Wang Zijie , Hu Yongfei , Ma Xi , Wang Fenglai 

TITLE=Pyrroloquinoline Quinone Alleviates Jejunal Mucosal Barrier Function Damage and Regulates Colonic Microbiota in Piglets Challenged With Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=11

YEAR=2020

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2020.01754

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2020.01754

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=<p>This study aimed to evaluate the effect of dietary supplementation with pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ) on gut inflammation and microbiota dysbiosis induced by enterotoxigenic <italic>Escherichia coli</italic> (ETEC). Twenty Duroc × Landrace × Yorkshire crossbred barrows were assigned to four groups: two <italic>E. coli</italic> K88 challenge groups and two non-challenge groups, each provided a basal diet supplemented with 0 or 3 mg/kg PQQ. On day 14, piglets were challenged with 10 mL 1 × 10<sup>9</sup> CFU/mL of <italic>E. coli</italic> K88 or PBS for 48 h. The villus height (VH) and villus height/crypt depth (VCR) ratio of the <italic>E. coli</italic> K88-challenged group supplemented with PQQ was significantly reduced than in the non-supplemented challenge group (<italic>P</italic> &lt; 0.05), while levels of jejunal zonula occludens-3 (ZO-3), diamine oxidase, secretory immunoglobulin A (SIgA), interleukin-10 (IL-10), and IL-22 proteins were higher (<italic>P</italic> &lt; 0.05), as were the activities of glutathione peroxidase, total superoxide dismutase, and total antioxidant capability (<italic>P</italic> &lt; 0.05). Moreover, PQQ supplementation alleviated an increase in levels of mucosal inflammatory cytokines and reduced the activity of nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) pathway by <italic>E. coli</italic> K88 (<italic>P</italic> &lt; 0.05). Gene sequencing of 16S rRNA showed dietary supplementation with PQQ in <italic>E. coli</italic> K88-challenged piglets attenuated a decrease in <italic>Lactobacillus</italic> count and butyrate, isobutyrate level, and an increase in <italic>Ruminococcus</italic> and <italic>Intestinibacter</italic> counts, all of which were observed in non-supplemented, challenge-group piglets. These results suggest that dietary supplementation with PQQ can effectively alleviate jejunal mucosal inflammatory injury by inhibiting NF-κB pathways and regulating the imbalance of colonic microbiota in piglets challenged with <italic>E. coli</italic> K88.</p>