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 ( < 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 ( < 0.05) and the EIL of Thr and Phe tended to be greater ( ≤ 0.10) at HSd2 than in TN conditions; the EIL of Pro was greater ( = 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.

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An experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of excess levels of Leu and Lys on the expression of b(0,+) and CAT-1 mRNA in jejunum, liver and the muscles Longissimus dorsi (LDM) and Semitendinosus (STM). Twenty pigs with an average initial BW of 16.4 ± 1.7 kg were used in a Randomized Complete Block. Dietary treatments (T) were as follows: T1, basal diet; T2, basal plus 3.5 g l-Lys/kg diet; T3, basal plus 1.5 g l-Leu/kg diet; T4, basal plus 3.5 g l-Lys plus 1.5 g l-Leu/kg diet. Diets in T1 and T3 met 100% the requirement of Lys for pigs within the 10 to 20 kg body weight range; diets in T2 and T4 contained 35% excess of Lys. Also, diets in T1 and T2 supplied 104%, whereas diets in T3 and T4 supplied 116% the requirement of Leu. The expression of b(0,+) in jejunum was reduced (p = 0.002) because of the supplementation of l-Leu, but l-Lys supplementation had no effect (p = 0.738). In contrast, the expression of b(0,+) in STM (p = 0.012) and liver (p = 0.095) was reduced by the high level of Lys, but Leu had no effect (p > 0.100). CAT-1 expression in STM increased by high Lys (p = 0.023) and Leu (p = 0.007) levels. In liver, the expression of CAT-1 substantially increased (p = 0.001) because of Lys. In conclusion, excess levels of dietary Lys and Leu affect the expression of cationic amino acid transporters, and this effect varies depending on the studied tissue.

Heat stress (HS) appears to impair the pig's small intestine digestive and absorptive capacities and, therefore, may affect the AA digestibilities. A crossover-designed experiment was conducted utilizing two 7-d periods with 8 pigs (30.8 kg initial BW) surgically fitted with T-type cannulas at the terminal ileum to analyze the effect of HS on both apparent (AID) and standardized (SID) ileal digestibility of AA in pigs fed a wheat-soybean meal diet. Subcutaneous skin and ileal lumen temperatures were continuously monitored in 15-min intervals during the entire experiment. After recovery from surgery, all pigs were adapted to the diet and trained to consume the same amount of feed twice a day for 5 d in thermal-neutral (TN) conditions (22°C ± 2°C). Following adaptation, pigs were divided into 2 groups (4 pigs each); 1 remained in TN conditions, and the other group was exposed to natural HS (24°C to 45°C) for 7 d (period 1). In period 2, the 2 groups switched environments. Ileal digesta were continuously collected for 12 h, starting at 0700 h, on d 6 and 7 of each period. Chromic oxide was used as an indicator of intestinal digesta flow. The subcutaneous and the ileal temperatures were increased between 1.3°C and 1.6°C in HS compared to TN pigs ( < 0.001). The AID of AA (%) for the TN and HS pigs were Arg, 90.6, 88.1; His, 88.7, 85.9; Ile, 84.8, 83.9; Leu, 86.9, 84.1; Lys, 86.8, 86.2; Met, 89.8, 89.1; Phe, 86.0, 84.8; Thr, 76.7, 74.3; and Val, 82.8, 81.7, respectively. The SID (%) of AA for the TN and HS pigs were Arg, 94.0, 92.0; His, 92.5, 90.2; Ile, 89.5, 88.1; Leu, 90.1, 88.6; Lys, 91.0, 90.1; Met, 94.4, 93.6; Phe, 90.4, 88.9; Thr, 86.0, 83.7; and Val, 88.1, 86.5, respectively. The AID of Arg, His, and Leu was lower ( < 0.01) in HS pigs, and the SID of Arg and His was also lower in HS pigs. Neither the AID nor the SID of the remaining essential AA was affected by HS. In summary, the digestibility of essential AA is differentially affected in pigs exposed to natural HS, and thus, special attention should be given to Arg and His when formulating diets for growing pigs under HS conditions.

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