Abstract
L-Tryptophan (Trp) was shown to improve the gut barrier and growth of weaning piglets. However, whether excessive dietary Trp regulates amino acids (AAs) metabolism and gut serotonin (5-HT) homeostasis in piglets with gut inflammation is not clear yet. We hypothesize that excessive dietary Trp alleviates acetate-induced colonic inflammation and gut barrier damage in weaning piglets partially through the regulation of colonic AAs metabolism and 5-HT signaling. Fifty-four 21-day-old weaned piglets were divided into six groups: control, acetate, 0.2%Trp, 0.2%Trp + acetate, 0.4% Trp, and 0.4%Trp + acetate. Piglets were fed a basal diet supplemented with 0%, 0.2%, or 0.4% of Trp throughout the 12-day experiment. During days 0–7, all piglets had free access to diet and drinking water. On day 8, piglets were intrarectal administered with 10 mL of 10% acetate saline solution or 0.9% saline. During days 8–12, all piglets were pair-fed the same amount of feed per kg bodyweight. Results showed that excessive dietary Trp alleviated acetate-induced reductions in daily weight gain and increase in feed/gain ratio. Trp restored (P < 0.05) acetate-induced increase in concentrations of free aspartate, glutamate/glutamine, glycine, 5-HT, and 3-methylindole in the colon, downregulation of zonula occludens-1 and 5-HT reuptake transporter (SERT) expression and upregulation of IL-1β, IL-8, TLR4, and 5-HT receptor 2A (HTR2A) expression, and the increase in ratios of p-STAT3/ STAT3 and p-p65/p65 in the colon. The above findings suggested that excessive dietary Trp in the proper amount regulated colonic AAs metabolism, 5-HT homeostasis, and signaling that may contribute as important regulators of gut inflammation during the weaning transition.
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Acknowledgements
The authors would like to appreciate GW for constructive suggestions during the study and the anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments.
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This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (32072689, 31301979), the National Key R&D Program of China (2017YFD0500501), the National Key Basic Research Program of China (2013CB127303), and the 2115 Talent Development Program of China Agricultural University.
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BW, ZW, and ZD designed the experiment. BW and ZD wrote the manuscript. BW, LC, QS, ML, JK, SS, HC, YS, and ZD conducted the experiments and statistical analysis. ZD revised the manuscript and all authors have approved the final manuscript.
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Wang, B., Cui, L., Song, Q. et al. Excessive dietary L-tryptophan regulated amino acids metabolism and serotonin signaling in the colon of weaning piglets with acetate-induced gut inflammation. Amino Acids 55, 403–412 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00726-023-03239-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00726-023-03239-8