Effects of copper hydroxychloride on growth performance and abundance of genes involved in lipid metabolism of growing pigs

Abstract

An experiment was conducted to test the hypothesis that copper (Cu) hydroxychloride improves growth performance by upregulating the mRNA transcription of genes involved in lipid metabolism of pigs fed a diet based on corn, soybean meal (SBM), and distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS). Thirty-two pigs (15.05 ± 0.98 kg) were allotted to 2 dietary treatments with 2 pigs per pen for a total of 8 replicate pens per treatment. Pigs were fed a corn–SBM–DDGS control diet that included Cu to meet the requirement. A second diet was formulated by adding 150 mg Cu/kg from copper hydroxychloride to the control diet. On the last day of the experiment, one pig per pen was sacrificed, and samples from liver, skeletal muscle, and subcutaneous adipose tissue were collected to analyze relative mRNA abundance of genes involved in lipid metabolism. Results indicated that overall ADG and G:F were greater (P < 0.05) for pigs fed the diet containing copper hydroxychloride compared with pigs fed the control diet. Pigs fed the diet supplemented with copper hydroxychloride also had increased (P < 0.05) abundance of cluster of differentiation 36 in the liver and increased (P < 0.05) abundance of fatty acid-binding protein 4 and lipoprotein lipase in subcutaneous adipose tissue. Inclusion of copper hydroxychloride also tended to increase (P < 0.10) the abundance of fatty acid-binding protein 1, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α, and carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1B in the liver, skeletal muscle, and subcutaneous adipose tissue, respectively. This indicates that dietary Cu may affect signaling pathways associated with lipid metabolism by improving the uptake, transport, and utilization of fatty acids. In conclusion, supplementation of copper hydroxychloride to the control diet improved growth performance and upregulated the abundance of some genes involved in postabsorptive metabolism of lipids.

Copper and zinc hydroxychloride cosupplementation improve growth performance and carcass and reduce diarrhea frequency in grower-finisher pigs

“…The growing pigs fed Cu as CuSO 4 alone or a 50/50 blend of CuSO 4 , and Cu amino acid complex (Cu-AA) showed that a 50/50 blend of Cu optimizes feed efficiency and carcass feed efficiency for pig market weight, regardless of level (70 or 130 mg Cu/kg) ( Carpenter et al, 2019 ). Espinosa et al (2020) also observed higher ADG in growing pigs fed 150 mg Cu/kg from CHC. On the other hand, Coble et al (2018) showed that providing 150 mg Cu/kg as a hydroxychloride source associated with by-products in the diet does not influence growth performance.…”

“…There were more studies with these minerals separately, in which pigs fed 150 mg Cu/kg had an improved growth performance ( Coble et al, 2017 ; Espinosa et al, 2020 ), but no difference was observed with 130 mg Cu/kg ( Zheng et al, 2018 ). Similarly, Zn showed an improved growth performance when pigs were fed 80 to 100 mg Zn/kg ( Carpenter et al, 2016 ; Van Kuijk et al, 2019 ), and with 150 mg increase in the percentage of carcass yield was observed ( Cemin et al, 2019 ).…”

The Impact of Zn, Cu and Fe Chelates on the Fatty-Acid Profile and Dietary Value of Broiler-Chicken Thigh Meat

“…Exogenous Cu can have an influence on signalling pathways associated with lipid metabolism through improved absorption, transport and utilisation of fatty acids, as shown by studies involving pigs and ruminants [ 56 , 57 , 58 ]. Additionally, it was found that the activity of some genes involved in post-absorptive lipid metabolism increased [ 49 , 56 ].…”

“…Exogenous Cu can have an influence on signalling pathways associated with lipid metabolism through improved absorption, transport and utilisation of fatty acids, as shown by studies involving pigs and ruminants [ 56 , 57 , 58 ]. Additionally, it was found that the activity of some genes involved in post-absorptive lipid metabolism increased [ 49 , 56 ]. Copper also activates PPAR-α (peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor) and AMPK (5′AMP-activated protein kinase), which fosters a reduction in intracellular fat by stimulating lipid metabolism and inhibiting lipogenesis in adipocytes [ 49 ].…”

Digestibility and metabolism of copper in diets for pigs and influence of dietary copper on growth performance, intestinal health, and overall immune status: a review

“…However, supplementation of Cu at 150 mg/kg in diets for growing pigs increased the abundance of lipoprotein lipase and FABP1 in the subcutaneous adipose tissue and liver, respectively [126]. Therefore, the observed improvement in growth performance of pigs fed the Cu-supplemented diets may be a result of improved lipid metabolism with a subsequent improvement in energy utilization [126].…”