Effects of dietary supplementation with an expressed fusion peptide bovine lactoferricin–lactoferrampin on performance, immune function and intestinal mucosal morphology in piglets weaned at age 21 d

Abstract

Lactoferrin has antimicrobial activity associated with peptide fragments lactoferricin (LFC) and lactoferrampin (LFA) released on digestion. These two fragments have been expressed in Photorhabdus luminescens as a fusion peptide linked to protein cipB. The construct cipB -LFC -LFA was tested as an alternative to antimicrobial growth promoters in pig production. Sixty piglets with an average live body weight of 5·42 (SEM 0·59) kg were challenged with enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli and randomly assigned to four treatment groups fed a maize -soyabean meal diet containing either no addition (C), cipB at 100 mg/kg (C þ B), cipB -LFC -LFA at 100 mg/kg (C þ L) or colistin sulfate at 100 mg/kg (C þ CS) for 3 weeks. Compared with C, dietary supplementation with C þ L for 3 weeks increased daily weight gain by 21 %, increased recovery from diarrhoea, enhanced serum glutathione peroxidase (GPx), peroxidase (POD) and total antioxidant content (T-AOC), liver GPx, POD, superoxide dismutase and T-AOC, Fe, total Fe-binding capacity, IgA, IgG and IgM levels (P,0·05), decreased the concentration of E. coli in the ileum, caecum and colon (P, 0·05), increased the concentration of lactobacilli and bifidobacteria in the ileum, caecum and colon (P,0·05), and promoted development of the villus -crypt architecture of the small intestine. Growth performance was similar between C þ L-and C þ CS-supplemented pigs. The present results indicate that LFC -LFA is an effective alternative to the feed antibiotic CS for enhancing growth performance in piglets weaned at age 21 d.

Insect proteins as a potential source of antimicrobial peptides in livestock production. A review

“…Research on the effect of AMPs as dietary supplements in animal production has been conducted mainly on pigs (Tang et al, 2009(Tang et al, , 2012Yoon et al, 2012Yoon et al, , 2013Yoon et al, , 2014Wu et al, 2012;Xiong et al, 2014). The analysed AMPs were, among others: antimicrobial peptide-A3 (AMP-A3), antimicrobial peptide-P5 (AMP-P5), antimicrobial peptide cecropin AD, lactoferrins (cipB-lactoferricin-lactoferrampin, recombinant lactoferrampinlactoferricin), and the mixture of lactoferrin, cecropin, defensin and plectasin.…”

Antimicrobial Activity of Lactoferrin-Related Peptides and Applications in Human and Veterinary Medicine

“…Because Lfcin can decrease the concentration of E. coli and keep the gut tissue healthy, pigs fed with cipB-Lfcin had lower serum levels of circulating cytokines than pigs fed a standard or control diet [95]. Further studies of the use of these peptides as an alternative to antimicrobial growth promoters in pig production comprised construct cipB-Lfcin-Lframpin [106]. Piglets fed with construct (100 mg/kg) or control diets were challenged with enterotoxigenic E. coli.…”

Lactoferricin B Inhibits the Phosphorylation of the Two-Component System Response Regulators BasR and CreB

“…Furthermore, the combination of Lactoferrin with probiotics has been confirmed to have enhanced antibacterial effect in the clinical trials designed to overcome the infections caused by Helicobacter pylori (61). However, the reason that LfcinB inhibited pathogens but not probiotics in animal model experiments and clinical trials remains unclear (62,63). Herein, we provide a possible explanation: in the intestines with excessive ferric ions and limited carbon resources, Lfcin B (lactoferrin-derived peptide) targets the motif of the TCS response regulators BasR and CreB of pathogens and inhibits their growth in the intestines.…”