Increasing evidence supports that early life environmental influences, including nutrition and stress, impact long-term health outcomes and disease susceptibility. The objective of the current study was to determine whether dietary spray-dried plasma (SDP) fed during the first 2 weeks post-weaning (PW) influences subsequent immunological and intestinal injury responses to S. Typhimurium challenge. Thirty two piglets (16–17 d of age) were weaned onto nursery diets containing 0% SDP, 2.5% SDP (fed for 7 d PW), or 5% SDP (for 14 d PW) and were then fed control diets (without SDP), for the remainder of the experiment. At 34 d PW (50 d of age), pigs were challenged with 3×109 cfu S. Typhimurium. A control group (non-challenged) that was fed 0% SDP in the nursery was included. At 2 d post-challenge, distal ileum was harvested for measurement of inflammatory, histological, and intestinal physiological parameters. S. Typhimurium challenge induced elevated ileal histological scores, myeloperoxidase (MPO), IL-8, and TNF, and increased intestinal permeability (indicated by reduced transepithelial voltage (PD) and elevated FD4 flux rates). Compared with S. Typhimurium-challenged controls (0% SDP), pigs fed 5% SDP-14 d exhibited reduced ileal histological scores, MPO, IL-8, and FD4 flux rates. Pigs fed 5% SDP-14 d in the nursery exhibited increased levels of plasma and ileal TNFα in response to challenge, compared with other treatments. These results indicate that inclusion of SDP into PW diets can have influence subsequent immunological responses and intestinal injury induced by later life S. Typhimurium challenge.

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