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Oral MSG administration alters hepatic expression of genes for lipid and nitrogen metabolism in suckling piglets

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Abstract

This experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of oral administration of monosodium glutamate (MSG) on expression of genes for hepatic lipid and nitrogen metabolism in piglets. A total of 24 newborn pigs were assigned randomly into one of four treatments (n = 6/group). The doses of oral MSG administration, given at 8:00 and 18:00 to sow-reared piglets between 0 and 21 days of age, were 0 (control), 0.06 (low dose), 0.5 (intermediate dose), and 1 (high dose) g/kg body weight/day. At the end of the 3-week treatment, serum concentrations of total protein and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol in the intermediate dose group were elevated than those in the control group (P < 0.05). Hepatic mRNA levels for fatty acid synthase, acetyl-coA carboxylase, insulin-like growth factor-1, glutamate–oxaloacetate transaminase, and glutamate–pyruvate transaminase were higher in the middle-dose group (P < 0.05), compared with the control group. MSG administration did not affect hepatic mRNA levels for hormone-sensitive lipase or carnitine palmitoyl transferase-1. We conclude that oral MSG administration alters hepatic expression of certain genes for lipid and nitrogen metabolism in suckling piglets.

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Fig. 1
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Abbreviations

ACC:

Acetyl-coA carboxylase

CPT-1:

Carnitine palmitoyl transferase-1

FAS:

Fatty acid synthase

HDL-C:

High-density lipoprotein cholesterol

HSL:

Hormone-sensitive lipase

IGF-1:

Insulin-like growth factor-1

LDL-C:

Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol

MSG:

Monosodium glutamate

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 31110103909) and Texas AgriLife Research (H-82000).

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Agroecology and Processing Subtropical Region, Institute of Subtropical Agriculture, Research Center for Healthy Breeding Livestock and Poultry, Hunan Engineering and Research Center Animal and Poultry Science, Scientific Observing and Experimental Station of Animal Nutrition and Feed Science in South-Central, Ministry of Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Science, Changsha, 410125, Hunan, China

    Gang Chen, Jun Zhang, Yuzhe Zhang, Peng Liao, Tiejun Li & Yulong Yin

  2. College of Animal Science and Technology, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha, 410128, China

    Gang Chen & Lixiang Chen

  3. Feed Research Institute of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science, Beijing, 100098, China

    Jinquan Wang

  4. State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, China Agricultural University, Beijing, 100193, China

    Guoyao Wu

  5. Department of Animal Science, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, 77843, USA

    Guoyao Wu

Authors
  1. Gang Chen
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  2. Jun Zhang
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  3. Yuzhe Zhang
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  4. Peng Liao
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  5. Tiejun Li
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  7. Yulong Yin
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  8. Jinquan Wang
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  9. Guoyao Wu
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Correspondence to Yulong Yin.

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Chen, G., Zhang, J., Zhang, Y. et al. Oral MSG administration alters hepatic expression of genes for lipid and nitrogen metabolism in suckling piglets. Amino Acids 46, 245–250 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00726-013-1615-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00726-013-1615-9

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