Cellular effects of oral egg yolk immunoglobulins at birth on enhancing growth and intestinal mucosal innate immunity in pre-weaned piglets

Muttarin Lothong¹Autchara Kayan¹Manmueang Malison²Dran Rakarcheep²Theerawat Samritwatchasai²Sumpun Thammacharoen²Chatsri Deachapunya^3,4Sutthasinee Poonyachoti^2,5*

• ¹Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand
• ²Department of Physiology, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Chulalongkorn University, Pathumwan, Thailand
• ³Faculty of Medicine, Srinakharinwirot University, Bangkok, Thailand
• ⁴Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Srinakharinwirot University, Bangkok, Thailand
• ⁵CU-Animal Fertility Research Unit, Faculaty of Veterinary Science, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand

Low birth weight negatively affects growth performance and immunity in suckling piglets. The effects of chicken egg yolk immunoglobulin (IgY)-based product, Globigen® Pig Doser (GPD), given at birth on growth performance at weaning were investigated in normal-(NBW) and low-birth weight (LBW) piglets. The product comprises IgY against common newborn piglet enteric pathogens Escherichia spp., soybean oil, vitamins, and probiotics Enterococcus faecium. The expression of mRNA and protein related mucosal innate immunity was determined by real-time qPCR and Western blot in 7-day-old piglets (n = 5 pigs). LBW (0.8-1.0 kg BW) and NBW (1.4-1.6 kg BW) were randomly chosen from different sows. At 6 and 10 h after birth, 1.5 mg of IgY (NBW-IgY or LBW-IgY; n = 32 pigs/group) were orally supplemented. GPD significantly increased final BW and daily weight gain of NBW-IgY but not LBW-IgY at 24-day-old compared to untreated group. The growth performance of LBW-IgY was improved to NBW. The expressions of antimicrobial peptides, porcine β-defensin (PBD)4, pathogen recognition receptors, toll-like receptor (TLR)1, TLR2, TLR5, TLR6, TLR8 and TLR9 and cytokines IL-6 were enhanced in NBW-IgY. The upregulated PBD2 and PBD4 expressions were seen in the jejunal mucosa of LBW-IgY. The overexpression of neuropeptides substance P and calcitonin-gene-related peptides, and cytokines IL-8 underlying the inflammation in LBW were reversed by GPD. LBW exhibited elevated tight junction barrier proteins expression claudin (CLDN)4, CLDN7, and ZO-1 in colon but were reversed by GPD. Our findings indicated that oral Globigen® Pig Doser supplementation at birth can promote growth by modulating the intestinal barrier system and reducing the incidence of inflammation in pre-weanling piglets.