Host defense peptides (HDPs) are efficient defense components of the innate immune system, playing critical roles in intestinal homeostasis and protection against pathogens. This study aims to investigate the interference effects of DON on the intestinal porcine HDPs expression in piglets and intestinal porcine epithelial cell line (IPEC-J2) cells, and elucidate the underlying mechanisms through which it functions. In an animal experiment, intestinal HDPs were determined in weaned piglets fed control and 1.28 mg/kg or 2.89 mg/kg DON-contaminated diets. Dietary exposure to DON significantly decreased piglet average daily gain, increased intestinal permeability and depressed the expression of porcine β-defensin1 (pBD1), pBD2, pBD3, epididymis protein 2 splicing variant C (pEP2C), PMAP23, and proline/arginine-rich peptide of 39 amino acids (PR39) in the intestine (p < 0.05). In IPEC-J2 cells, DON decreased cell viability and inhibited the expression of pBD1, pBD3, pEP2C, PG1-5, and PR39 (p < 0.05). NOD2, key regulator that is responsible for HDPs production, was markedly downregulated, whereas caspase-12 was activated in the presence of DON. In conclusion, DON induced caspase-12 activation and inhibited the NOD2-mediated HDPs production, which led to an impaired intestinal barrier integrity of weaned piglets. Our study provides a promising target for future therapeutic strategies to prevent the adverse effects of DON.

This study was performed to explore the predominant responses of rumen microbiota with thymol supplementation as well as effective dose of thymol on rumen fermentation. Thymol at different concentrations, i.e., 0, 100 mg/L, 200 mg/L, and 400 mg/L (four groups × five replications) was applied for 24 h of fermentation in a rumen fluid incubation system. Illumina MiSeq sequencing was applied to investigate the ruminal microbes in addition to the examination of rumen fermentation. Thymol doses reached 200 mg/L and significantly decreased (p < 0.05) total gas production (TGP) and methane production; the production of total volatile fatty acids (VFA), propionate, and ammonia nitrogen, and the digestibility of dry matter and organic matter were apparently decreased (p < 0.05) when the thymol dose reached 400 mg/L. A thymol dose of 200 mg/L significantly affected (p < 0.05) the relative abundance of 14 genera of bacteria, three species of archaea, and two genera of protozoa. Network analysis showed that bacteria, archaea, and protozoa significantly correlated with methane production and VFA production. This study indicates an optimal dose of thymol at 200 mg/L to facilitate rumen fermentation, the critical roles of bacteria in rumen fermentation, and their interactions with the archaea and protozoa.

With the shortage of common vegetable fat sources, such as soybean oil (SBO), it is urgent to find alternative oil sources for broiler producers. The objective of this study was to evaluate the potential of refined cottonseed oil (CSO) as a replacement for SBO in broiler diets. A total of 180 chickens at 1 d of age were randomly assigned to five treatments of six replicates. One treatment was the basal diet (control), and the other four experimental diets were formulated from the basal diet by replacing (w/w) 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100% of the SBO with refined CSO (only containing 0.2% cyclopropenoid fatty acids, and no free gossypol was detected). At the end of week 6, blood samples were obtained from the jugular vein and the breast muscle was aseptically isolated from two birds per replicate. The results showed that substitution of CSO for low‐level SBO had no significant effect (p > 0.05) on broiler performance during the starter period (week 1–3), while 50% level of CSO inclusion significantly increased (p < 0.05) ADG and improved FCR compared with the control group during the finisher period (week 4–6). Broilers fed 100% CSO diets had lower (p < 0.05) levels of serum total protein (TP), albumin (ALB), cholesterol (CHO) concentrations, and serum alkaline phosphatase (AKP) activity than that of the control broilers. Furthermore, the serum antioxidant status appeared to be enhanced by CSO. Additionally, high levels of CSO (75 and 100%) significantly increased the proportions of C14:0 and C18:0 but decreased the proportions of C18:1n9t, C18:2n6c, and ∑ n‐6 polyunsaturated fatty acids in breast muscles of broilers. Overall, the SBO could be replaced with refined CSO up to 50% in diets for broilers without adversely affecting the performance, liver functions, and breast muscle fatty acid composition of these broilers.

Zearalenone (ZEN) is a ubiquitous contaminant in poultry feed, since ZEN and its metabolites can interfere with estrogen function and affect the reproductive ability of animals. The estrogen-like effect of ZEN on mammal is widely reported, while little information is available, regarding the effect of relatively low dose of ZEN on estrogen function and production performance of laying hens, and the relationship between them. This work was aimed to investigate the effects of ZEN on the production performance, egg quality, ovarian function and gut microbiota of laying hens. A total of 96 Hy-line brown laying hens aged 25-week were randomly divided into 3 groups including basal diet group (BD group), basal diet supplemented with 250 μg/kg (250 μg/kg ZEN group) and 750 μg/kg (750 μg/kg ZEN group) ZEN group. Here, 750 μg/kg ZEN resulted in a significant increase in the feed conversion ratio (FCR) (g feed/g egg) (p < 0.05), a decrease in the egg production (p > 0.05), albumen height and Haugh unit (p > 0.05), compared to the BD group. The serum Follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) levels significantly decreased in ZEN supplemented groups (p < 0.05). Serum Luteinizing hormone (LH) and Progesterone (P) levels in the 750 μg/kg ZEN group were significantly lower than those in the BD group (p < 0.05). 16S rRNA sequencing indicated that ZEN reduced cecum microbial diversity (p < 0.05) and altered gut microbiota composition. In contrast to 250 μg/kg ZEN, 750 μg/kg ZEN had more dramatic effects on the gut microbiota function. Spearman’s correlation analysis revealed negative correlations between the dominant bacteria of the 750 μg/kg ZEN group and the production performance, egg quality and ovarian function of hens. Overall, ZEN was shown to exert a detrimental effect on production performance, egg quality and ovarian function of laying hens in this study. Moreover, alterations in the composition and function of the gut microbiota induced by ZEN may be involved in the adverse effects of ZEN on laying hens.

Antinutrients, such as cyclopropene fatty acids (CPFAs) and free gossypol (FG), present together in cottonseed have caused numerous adverse effects on liver health and egg quality of laying hens, which are both likely to be related to a disturbance in lipid metabolism. This experiment employed a 3 × 3 factorial arrangement using corn–soybean-meal-based diets supplemented with different levels of cottonseed oil (0%, 2%, or 4% CSO) containing CPFAs and cottonseed meal (0%, 6%, or 12% CSM) containing FG to elucidate the effects of them or their interaction on fatty acid profile, lipid content, and liver health of laying hens. An overall increase in fatty acid saturation and an overall significant decrease (p < 0.05) in monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) were shown in the livers of hens fed diets with either 2% or 4% CSO. Meanwhile, the concentration of liver cholesterol, serum cholesterol, and serum LDL-c of hens fed a diet supplemented with a high level of CSO (4%) were noticeably increased (p < 0.05). Even though the supplementation of 4% CSO in diets aroused beneficial influences on liver function, a high level of CSO inclusion in laying hens’ diets is not recommended due to its hypercholesterolemia effect. In conclusion, supplementation of CSO, which contains 0.20% CPFAs, was the primary cause of alteration in fatty acid composition and cholesterol content in hens, while no interaction between CSM and CSO nor CSM effect was found for lipid profile and liver health in laying hen.

Trefoil factors (TFFs) are regulatory peptides playing critical roles in mucosal repair and protection against a variety of insults within the gastrointestinal tract. This work aimed to explore the effects of deoxynivalenol (DON) on intestinal TFFs expression using in vivo and in vitro models. In an animal trial, twenty-four 28-d-old barrows (Duroc × Landrace × Large White; initial body weight = 7.6 ± 0.7 kg) were randomly divided into three treatments for 28 days, including a control diet (0.61 mg DON/kg feed), and two levels of DON-contaminated diets containing 1.28 and 2.89 mg DON/kg feed, respectively. Piglets exposed to DON had lower mRNA expression of TFF1, TFF2, TFF3, as well as Claudin-4 in the intestine (P < 0.05). Dietary DON exposure decreased the protein levels of TFF2 and TFF3 in the jejunum as demonstrated by western blot and immunohistochemistry. In intestinal porcine epithelial cells (IPEC-J2), DON depressed the mRNA expression of TFF2, TFF3, and Claudin-4. Overexpression of sterile alpha motif (SAM) pointed domain E26 transformation-specific (ETS) factor (SPDEF) was found to attenuate DON-induced suppression of TFFs in IPEC-J2 cells. Altogether, our work shows, for the first time, that dietary DON exposure depresses the expression of intestinal TFFs in piglets. Given the fundamental role of TFFs in intestinal mucosal homeostasis, our observations indicate that the DON content in animal feed should be strictly controlled based on the existing regulation for DON.