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The Acetic Acid Produced by Lactobacillus Species Regulates Immune Function to Alleviate PEDV Infection in Piglets

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Abstract

Porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) infection results in significant mortality among newborn piglets, leading to substantial economic setbacks in the pig industry. Short-chain fatty acids (SCFA), the metabolites of intestinal probiotics, play pivotal roles in modulating intestinal function, enhancing the intestinal barrier, and bolstering immune responses through diverse mechanisms. The protective potential of Lactobacillus delbrueckii, Lactobacillus johnsonii, and Lactococcus lactis was first noted when administered to PEDV-infected piglets. Histological evaluations, combined with immunofluorescence studies, indicated that piglets receiving L. lactis displayed less intestinal damage, with diminished epithelial cell necrosis and milder injury levels. Differences in immunofluorescence intensity revealed a significant disparity in antigen content between the L. lactis and PEDV groups, suggesting that L. lactis might suppress PEDV replication, the intestine. We then assessed short-chain fatty acid content through targeted metabolomics, finding that acetate levels markedly varied from other groups. This protective impact was confirmed by administering acetate to PEDV-infected piglets. Data suggested that piglets receiving acetate exhibited resistance to PEDV. Flow cytometry analyses were conducted to evaluate the expression of innate and adaptive immune cells in piglets. Sodium acetate appeared to bolster innate immune defenses against PEDV, marked by elevated NK cell and macrophage counts in mesenteric lymph nodes, along with increased NK cells in the spleen and macrophages in the bloodstream. Acetic acid was also found to enhance the populations of CD8+ IFN-γ T cells in the blood, spleen, and mesenteric lymph, CD4+ IFN-γ T cells in mesenteric lymph nodes and spleen, and CD4+ IL-4+T cells in the bloodstream. Transcriptome analyses were carried out on the jejunal mucosa from piglets with PEDV-induced intestinal damage and from healthy counterparts with intact barriers. Through bioinformatics analysis, we pinpointed 189 significantly upregulated genes and 333 downregulated ones, with the PI3K-AKT, ECM-receptor interaction, and pancreatic secretion pathways being notably enriched. This transcriptomic evidence was further corroborated by western blot and qPCR. Short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) were found to modulate G protein-coupled receptor 41 (GPR41) and 43 (GPR43) in porcine intestinal epithelial cells (IPEC-J2). Post-acetic acid exposure, there was a notable upsurge in the ZO-1 barrier protein expression in IPEC-J2 compared to the unexposed control group (WT), while GPR43 knockdown inversely affected ZO-1 expression. Acetic acid amplified the concentrations of phosphorylated PI3K and AKT pivotal components of the PI3K/AKT pathway. Concurrently, the co-administration of AKT agonist SC79 and PI3K inhibitor LY294002 revealed acetic acid’s role in augmenting ZO-1 expression via the P13K/AKT signaling pathway. This study demonstrates that acetic acid produced by Lactobacillus strains regulates intestinal barrier and immune functions to alleviate PEDV infection. These findings provide valuable insights for mitigating the impact of PEDV in the pig industry.

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The authors confirm that the data supporting the findings of this work are available within the article. Raw data that supports the findings are available upon reasonable request.

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Funding

This work was supported by the Science and Technology Development Program of Jilin Province (YDZJ202301ZYTS326), National Natural Science Foundation of China (U21A20261, 32202819, 31941018, 31972696 and 32072888), the China Agriculture Research System of MOF and MARA (CARS-35), the Science and Technology Development Program of Jilin Province (20190301042NY, YDZJ202102CXJD029, and 20210202102NC).

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  1. Ming-Jie Sun and Jun Hong Xing have contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Veterinary Medicine, Jilin Provincial Engineering Research Center of Animal Probiotics, Jilin Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Microecology and Healthy Breeding, Engineering Research Center of Microecological Vaccines (Drugs) for Major Animal Diseases, Ministry of Education, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun, 130118, China

    Ming-Jie Sun, Jun Hong Xing, Qing-Song Yan, Bo-Shi Zou, Ying-Jie Wang, Tian-Ming Niu, Tong Yu, Hai-Bin Huang, Di Zhang, Shu-Min Zhang, Wu-Sheng Sun, Ruo-Nan Zou, Chun-Feng Wang & Chun-Wei Shi

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Contributions

C.-F.W. and C.-W.S. designed the experiments. M.-J.S. wrote the paper. Q.-S.Y. organized and typeset the images. T.-M.N., B.-S.Z., and Y.-J.W. helped with sample collection and data presentation. J.-H.X., T.Y., B.-S.Z., R.-N.Z, and Q.-S.Y. performed the majority of the experiments and analyzed the data. D.Z., T.-M.N., W.-S.S., S.-M.Z., and H.-B.H. helped revise the manuscript W.-S.S., and S.-M.Z. supervised the study. M.-S.Z. and D.Z. drafted the original paper. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Sun, MJ., Xing, J.H., Yan, QS. et al. The Acetic Acid Produced by Lactobacillus Species Regulates Immune Function to Alleviate PEDV Infection in Piglets. Probiotics & Antimicro. Prot. (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12602-024-10243-1

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