Pigs fed protein-bound AA appear to have a higher abundance of AA transporters for their absorption in the jejunum compared with the duodenum. However, there is limited data about the effect of dietary free AA, readily available in the duodenum, on the duodenal abundance of AA transporters and its impact on pig performance. Forty-eight pigs (24.3 kg initial BW) distributed in 4 treatments were used to evaluate the effect of the CP level and form (free vs. protein bound) in which AA are added to diets on the expression of AA transporters in the 3 small intestine segments, serum concentration of AA, and performance. Dietary treatments based on wheat and soybean meal (SBM) were 1) low-CP (14%) diet supplemented with L-Lys, L-Thr, DL-Met, L-Leu, L-Ile, L-Val, L-His, L-Trp, and L-Phe (LPAA); 2) as in the LPAA but with added L-Gly as a N source (LPAA+N); 3) intermediate CP content (16%) supplemented with L-Lys HCl, L-Thr, and DL-Met (MPAA); and 4) high-CP (22%) diet (HP) without free AA. At the end of the experiment, 8 pigs from LPAA and HP were sacrificed to collect intestinal mucosa and blood samples and to dissect the carcasses. There were no differences in ADG, ADFI, G:F, and weights of carcass components and some visceral organs between treatments. Weights of the large intestine and kidney were higher in HP pigs (P < 0.01). Expression of b^0,+ in the duodenum was higher in pigs fed the LPAA compared with the HP diet (P = 0.036) but there was no difference in the jejunum and ileum. In the ileum, y⁺ L expression tended to be higher in pigs fed the LPAA diet (P = 0.098). Expression of b^0,+ in LPAA pigs did not differ between the duodenum and the jejunum, but in HP pigs, the expression of all AA transporters was higher in the jejunum than in the duodenum or ileum (P < 0.05). The serum concentration of Arg, His, Ile, Leu, Phe, and Val was higher but serum Lys and Met were lower in pigs fed the HP diet (P < 0.05). These results indicate that LPAA can substitute up to 8 percentage units of protein in HP wheat–SBM diets without affecting pig performance; nonessential N does not seem to be limiting in very low-protein wheat–SBM diets for growing pigs. Also, the inclusion of free AA in the diet appears to affect their serum concentration and the expression of the AA transporter b0,+ in the duodenum of pigs.

Exposure to heat stress (HS) may affect the intestinal epithelia of pigs, resulting in impaired digestive and absorptive capacity. The serum concentration (SC) of free AA in pigs can be used as indicators of their availability. This study was conducted with 12 crossbred (Landrace × Hampshire × Duroc) pigs (29.0 ± 2.8 kg initial BW) distributed into 2 groups to analyze the SC of free AA and some AA metabolites in pigs exposed to HS conditions. The treatments were pigs housed under natural HS conditions in a room with no ambient temperature control (23.6 to 37.6°C, HS) and pigs housed at thermoneutral conditions (24 ± 2°C), feed restricted to a level similar to that of their HS counterparts. All pigs received a wheat–soybean meal diet. Blood samples were collected at both the absorptive (2.5 h after a meal) and postabsorptive (10.0 h after a meal) phase. At the absorptive phase, the SC of free Arg, Leu, Lys, Phe, Thr, and Trp were lower (P < 0.05) and the SC of His, Val, Ala, Pro, Ser, and Tyr tended to be lower (P < 0.10) in HS pigs. At the postabsorptive phase, the SC of free Arg, His, Met, Asn, Gln, and Tyr were higher (P < 0.05) but the SC of Ala was lower (P < 0.01) and the SC of Pro tended to be lower (P < 0.10) in HS pigs. The absorptive SC of carnosine, ornithine (Orn), and Tau were lower (P < 0.05) and of citrulline (Cit), cystathionine, and urea tended to be lower (P < 0.10) in HS pigs. The postabsorptive SC of 3-methyl-His, homo-Cys, OH-Lys, and OH-Pro increased (P = 0.05) and of Cit tended to increase (P = 0.10) but that of carnosine and sarcosine (P < 0.05) decreased in HS pigs. The results of this study show a marked and differential effect of HS on the SC of AA. These data indicate that HS negatively affects the digestive and absorptive capacity of pigs and that the metabolism of some AA is modified in pigs to counteract the negative effects of the HS.

Heat stress (HS) increases the death of intestinal cells in pigs, which, in turn, may elevate the endogenous intestinal loss (EIL) of proteins and AA. An experiment was conducted to analyze the effect of HS on the AA composition of intestinal endogenous proteins and the EIL of AA in pigs. Eight pigs (25.2 ± 1.2 kg initial BW) were surgically implanted with T-type cannulas at the end of the small intestine. After surgery recovery, during the subsequent 7 d, all pigs were adapted to a protein- and AA-free diet and trained to consume the same amount of feed twice a day. All pigs were housed under thermoneutral (TN) conditions (22 ± 2°C) during this time. The following day, all pigs were still under TN conditions and ileal content was collected during 12 consecutive hours, at the end of which and for the following 8 d the pigs were exposed to natural HS conditions (31 to 37°C). Ileal content was collected again on d 2 (HS at d 2 [HSd2]) and 8 (HS at d 8 [HSd8]). Body temperature (BT) was measured in another group of 8 pigs every 15 min during the whole study. The average BT at HSd2 (39.6°C) was higher (P < 0.05) compared with both TN conditions (38.6°C) and HSd8 (38.8°C), but it did not differ between TN conditions and HSd8. The AA composition of endogenous intestinal protein was not affected by HS. The EIL of Arg and His were greater (P < 0.05) and the EIL of Thr and Phe tended to be greater (P ≤ 0.10) at HSd2 than in TN conditions; the EIL of Pro was greater (P = 0.01) at HSd8. The EIL of the remaining AA was not affected by HS. Although HS increased the EIL of Arg and His within the first 2 d, it appeared that normal EIL was shortly reestablished. These data show that acute HS does not affect the AA composition of intestinal endogenous proteins in growing pigs and that the EIL of AA may not be critical in growing pigs acclimated to high ambient temperature. Nevertheless, the increased EIL of Arg and Thr at HSd2 indicate that HS might affect the integrity of the intestinal epithelium of pigs during the first day of their exposure to high ambient temperature.

The absorption of lysine is facilitated by leucine, but there is no information regarding the effect of crude protein, lysine and leucine levels on the expression of cationic amino acid transporters in pigs. Therefore, an experiment was conducted with 20 pigs (14.9 ± 0.62 kg initial body weight) to evaluate the effect of two protein levels, and the content of lysine, threonine, methionine and leucine in low crude protein diets on the expression of b^0,+ and CAT-1 mRNA in jejunum, Longissimus dorsi and Semitendinosus muscles and serum concentration of amino acids. Treatments were as follows: (i) wheat–soybean meal diet, 20% crude protein (Control); (ii) wheat diet deficient in lysine, threonine and methionine (Basal diet); (iii) Basal diet plus 0.70% l-lysine, 0.27% l-threonine, 0.10% dl-methionine (Diet LTM); (iv) Diet LTM plus 0.80% l-leucine (Diet LTM + Leu). Despite the Basal diet, all diets were formulated to meet the requirements of lysine, threonine and methionine; Diet LTM + Leu supplied 60% excess of leucine. The addition of lysine, threonine and methionine in Diet LTM increased the expression of b^0,+ in jejunum and CAT-1 in the Semitendinosus and Longissiums muscles and decreased CAT-1 in jejunum; the serum concentration of lysine was also increased (p < 0.01). Further addition of l-leucine (Diet LTM + Leu) decreased the b^0,+ expression in jejunum and CAT-1 in the Longissimus dorsi muscle (p < 0.05), increased the serum concentration of leucine and arginine and decreased the concentration of isoleucine (p < 0.05). Pigs fed the Control diet expressed less b^0,+ in jejunum, and CAT-1 in the Semitendinosus and Longissiums muscles expressed more CAT-1 in jejunum (p < 0.05) and had lower serum concentration of isoleucine, leucine and valine (p < 0.05), but higher lysine concentrations (p < 0.01) than those fed Diet LTM. These results indicated that both, the level and the source of dietary amino acids, affect the expression of cationic amino acid transporters in pigs fed wheat-based diets.