Growth Performance And Lipid Metabolism Of IUGR Piglets And The Nutritional Regulation

Birth weight had a great impact on survival, growth of piglets. This experiment aims to explore the characteristics of growth performance and lipid metabolism of intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) piglets and the effects of nutritional regulation. Twelve pairs of IUGR (body weight at 7 day age was 1.84±0.09 kg) and normal birth weight (NBW, body tweight at 7 day age was 2.80±0.16 kg) of Duroc×Landrace × Yorkshire piglets (7 d old) were randomly assigned to four treatments in a 2 × 2 factorial design. IUGR and NBW pigs were fed diets of either normal nutritional level (NN,880 kcal/L,50 g of protein/L) or high nutritional level (HN,1320 kcal/L,75 g protein/L) for 21 d. Each treatment had six replicates of a piglet. The performance, visceral organ weight, serum biochemical parameters, hormone levels, lipid metabolism-related gene expression levels were measured after the end of the trial. The results showed that:1.The ADMI, ADG and bust size of IUGR piglets were significantly lower than NBW piglets (P<0.05). The ADMI, ADG, body length, bust size and final weight of IUGR piglets were higher for HN than NN (P<0.05)2.The heart, liver weight and the LF weight/BW ratio of IUGR piglets were lower compared with NBW piglets (P< 0.05). The liver, kidneys and intestines weight of IUGR piglets were significantly increased for HN (P<0.05). The heart weight of NBW piglets was increased for HN (P<0.05).3.The HDL-C, serum TG and intramuscular fat content of IUGR piglets were significantly higher for HN (P<0.05). Nutrient level and birth weight had an interaction on the glucose and HDL-C level (P<0.05)4.The leptin level of IUGR piglets was significantly higher than NBW piglets (P< 0.05). The IGF-1and leptin level of IUGR piglets were increased (P< 0.05) and adiponectin level (P<0.05) decreased for HN, Nutrient level and birth weight had an interaction on the IGF-1 level (P<0.05).5.The TG of IUGR piglets in liver was lower compared with NBW piglets (P<0.05). The TG of longissimus dorsi and liver were increased for HN (P<0.05). Nutrient level and birth weight had an interaction on TG content of liver (P<0.05).6.The T-AOC of IUGR piglets was decreased for HN (P<0.05)7.The expressions of C/EBPa and SREBP-lc in longissimus dorsi were increased for HN(P<0.05), but expression of CPT-1 in abdominal fat was reduced(P<0.05). Nutrient level and birth weight had an interaction on the H-FABP expression in longissimus dorsi, SREBP-1c expression in longissimus dorsi and liver (P<0.05)In conclusion, IUGR piglets performance was lower than NBW piglets.50% higher dietary nutrient concentration could improve growth performance of IUGR piglets, but the IUGR piglets could not achieve the same weight of NBW piglets at 28 days. Higher nutrient concentration increased the serum HDL-C, LDL-C and liver TG content of IUGR piglets, but decreased the liver T-AOC capacity. Higher nutrient concentration increased the risk of lipid metabolic disorder of IUGR piglets, which may have a danger to the animal health in later growth.