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Epidermal growth factor improves intestinal morphology by stimulating proliferation and differentiation of enterocytes and mTOR signaling pathway in weaning piglets

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Abstract

Epidermal growth factor (EGF) has been shown to improve piglet intestinal morphology and epithelial recovery. In an attempt to further understand the mechanisms behind these improvements, this study tested the hypothesis that dietary EGF may affect intestinal morphology by stimulating the proliferation and differentiation of enterocytes in weaning piglets. In piglets receiving 200 µg kg−1 EGF, crypt depth and villus height increased (P<0.05). Adding 400 µg kg−1 EGF increased villus height-to-crypt depth ratio (P<0.05), but reduced crypt depth (P<0.05). Dietary supplementation with 200 µg kg−1 EGF significantly increased the number of Ki67-positive cells (P<0.01) and tended to increase the mRNA level of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (P<0.10). However, this supplementation decreased the expression level of intestinal fatty acid-binding protein (P<0.05). Piglets fed with 400 µg kg−1 EGF had an increased mRNA level of intestinal alkaline phosphatase (P<0.05). The phosphorylation of mTOR (mammalian target of rapamycin) was observed in the 200 µg kg−1 EGF group. These results suggest that dietary supplementation with a low level of EGF improved piglet intestinal morphology through stimulating the proliferation and differentiation of enterocytes, and the mTOR signaling pathway may partly be involved in this process.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by Key Programs of Frontier Scientific Research of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (QYZDY-SSW-SMC008), Natural Science Foundation of Hunan Province (2017JJ1020), Young Elite Scientists Sponsorship Program by CAST (YESS20160086).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Hunan International Joint Laboratory of Animal Intestinal Ecology and Health, Laboratory of Animal Nutrition and Human Health, College of Life Sciences, Hunan Normal University, Changsha, 410081, China

    Lixia Wang, Fan Zhu, Huansheng Yang, Jianzhong Li, Yali Li, Xueqin Ding, Fengjie Ji & Yulong Yin

  2. Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Nutritional Physiology and Metabolic Process, Scientific Observing and Experimental Station of Animal Nutrition and Feed Science in South-Central, Ministry of Agriculture, Hunan Provincial Engineering Research Center for Healthy Livestock and Poultry Production, Key Laboratory of Agroecological Processes in Subtropical Region, Institute of Subtropical Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changsha, 410125, China

    Lixia Wang, Fan Zhu, Huansheng Yang, Xia Xiong, Fengjie Ji & Yulong Yin

  3. Academician Workstation of Tropical Crops Genetic Resources Institute, Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences, Haikou, 571101, China

    Huansheng Yang, Fengjie Ji & Hanlin Zhou

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  1. Lixia Wang
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  2. Fan Zhu
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  3. Huansheng Yang
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Wang, L., Zhu, F., Yang, H. et al. Epidermal growth factor improves intestinal morphology by stimulating proliferation and differentiation of enterocytes and mTOR signaling pathway in weaning piglets. Sci. China Life Sci. 63, 259–268 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11427-018-9519-6

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