Consumption of a high-salt diet by ewes during pregnancy alters nephrogenesis in 5-month-old offspring

Maternal nutrition during pregnancy can affect kidney development in the foetus, which may lead to adverse consequences in the mature kidney. It was expected that high-salt intake by pregnant ewes would lead to a reduction in foetal glomerular number but that the ovine kidney would adapt to maintain homoeostasis, in part by increasing the size of each glomerulus. Merino ewes that were fed either a control (1.5% NaCl) or high-salt (10.5% NaCl) diet during pregnancy, as well as their 5-month-old offspring, were subjected to a dietary salt challenge, and glomerular number and size and sodium excretion were measured. The high-salt offspring had 20% fewer glomeruli compared with the control offspring ( P,0.001), but they also had larger glomerular radii compared with the control offspring ( P,0.001). Consequently, the cross-sectional area of glomeruli was 18% larger in the high-salt offspring than in the control offspring ( P,0.05). There was no difference in the daily urinary sodium excretion between the two offspring groups ( P.0.05), although the high-salt offspring produced urine with a higher concentration of sodium. Our results demonstrated that maternal high-salt intake during pregnancy affected foetal nephrogenesis, altering glomerular number at birth. However, the ability to concentrate and excrete salt was not compromised, which indicates that the kidney was able to adapt to the reduction in the number of glomeruli

Dietary bovine colostrum increases villus height and decreases small intestine weight in early-weaned pigs

This experiment examined the effect of dietary spray-dried bovine colostrum on intestinal histology and organ weights in early-weaned pigs. In a randomised complete block design, twelve 14-day-old weaner pigs were offered a diet containing either 5% spray-dried bovine colostrum or no colostrum (control). Diets were formulated to contain 14.8 MJ/kg DE, 1.26% available lysine and to meet or exceed requirements for other nutrients. Piglets were offered the diets for a period of 14 days. No effect of diet on growth rate or feed intake was observed (p>0.10). Small intestine weight was reduced by 12% in piglets consuming dietary bovine colostrum (p0.10). Collectively, these results suggest a positive effect of dietary bovine colostrum on intestinal morphology and immune status in early-weaned pigs

Can nutritional manipulation enhance immune competence in broiler chickens?

Background - Antibiotic use for disease control in animal production systems, such as the chicken meat broiler industry, has been implicated in the development of antibiotic resistance in humans. As a result, there is increasing interest in the manipulation of nutrition and the development of new vaccination programs to enhance immune competence. Objective - To determine whether nutrition could be used to enhance immune competence through supplementation of broiler diets with vitamins A, C and E and the minerals zinc, copper and selenium. Design - To vary the extent of challenge to the immune system, two different housing environments (optimal and suboptimal) were used. Two diets were fed in each environment (nutritionally enriched vs control) and half of the birds within each diet group and environment were vaccinated with a live vaccine for coccidiosis (containing various Eimeria strains) whilst the other half were not. The trial was conducted over a six-week period during which time body weight, weekly feed intake and indicators of immune competence (white blood cell counts and bursa and thymus weights) were measured. Outcomes - Results showed increased bursa and thymus weights in chickens in the suboptimal environment suggesting the level of infection was greater. Eosinophil counts were significantly greater (P<0.05) in birds fed the enriched diet and in vaccinated birds, suggesting an enhanced response to the coccidiosis parasites. Conclusions - These results are promising for the use of dietary manipulation as an alternative to antibiotic treatment in the future

The number of villus and crypt CD4+ T cells in the jejunum of piglets increases after weaning

This experiment tested the hypothesis that an IgG-fortified bovine colostrum powder (Immulac) fed before and for 24 h after weaning would reduce inflammatory responses associated with weaning

Bovine colostrum supplementation increases villous height in sucking pigs

In the present experiment, the hypothesis that provision of supplementary colostrum (reconstituted spray-dried bovine colostrum "Immulac") in the diet of sucking piglets improves small intestine (SI) gut morphology was tested

Improved gut morphology in pre-weaned piglets does not reduce the effect of weaning on villous height

At weaning marked changes in piglet small intestine morphology occur, characterised by a dramatic reduction in villous height. Oral administration oflgG and IGF-I may improve gut integrity, growth and function. In the present experiment, it was hypothesised that providing a supplementary source of IgG and IGF-I for piglets during the lactation period would improve gut morphology, and may reduce the impact of weaning on gut integrity

Responses to saline drinking water in offspring born to ewes fed high salt during pregnancy

We have studied the fetal programming of lambs born to ewes exposed to high salt during pregnancy. In the present study, we hypothesise that salt-programmed lambs may not need to drink as much saline water as control lambs and that voluntary feed intake of salt-programmed lambs would be reduced. We used two groups of lambs born to ewes fed either a high salt (13% NaCl) diet during pregnancy (S-lambs; n = 12) or control animals born to ewes fed a conventional (0.5% NaCl) diet during pregnancy (C-lambs; n = 12). Animals were offered ad libitum amounts of saline drinking water containing 1.5% NaCl for 2 days. Results indicated that there was a significant difference between fetal origin of the lamb (i.e. between C and S-lambs) and time (day 1 and 2) on water intake (P = 0.055), urinary output (P = 0.002), and sodium excretion (P = 0.002). There was an interaction between fetal origin of the lambs and time (day 1 and 2) on the area under the curve (AUC) for the plasma concentration of aldosterone (P = 0.017). Aldosterone concentration for C-lambs ranged from 167 to 196 pg/ml over days 1 and 2, whilst S-lambs reduced their aldosterone by two-thirds from day 1 to 2, from 214 ± 24 to 74 ± 8 pg/ml. A novel result was a marked difference in feed intake between C and S-lambs, where S-lambs consumed approximately 0.5 kg DM/day (35%) less than C-lambs which was associated with a decrease in insulin secretion with time in both S and C-lambs. In conclusion, feeding a high salt diet to pregnant ewes affected the physiological responses of their offspring to the consumption of saline water during a period of 2 days illustrating that fetal programming changed the temporal pattern of how the offspring adapt to a load of ingested salt