N-carbamylglutamate and L-arginine improved maternal and placental development in underfed ewes

Abstract

The objectives of this study were to determine how dietary supplementation of N-carbamylglutamate (NCG) and rumen-protected L-arginine (RP-Arg) in nutrient-restricted pregnant Hu sheep would affect (1) maternal endocrine status; (2) maternal, fetal, and placental antioxidation capability; and (3) placental development. From day 35 to day 110 of gestation, 32 Hu ewes carrying twin fetuses were allocated randomly into four groups: 100% of NRC-recommended nutrient requirements, 50% of NRC recommendations, 50% of NRC recommendations supplemented with 20 g/day RP-Arg, and 50% of NRC recommendations supplemented with 5 g/day NCG product. The results showed that in maternal and fetal plasma and placentomes, the activities of total antioxidant capacity and superoxide dismutase were increased (P < 0.05); however, the activity of glutathione peroxidase and the concentration of maleic dialdehyde were decreased (P < 0.05) in both NCG-and RP-Arg-treated underfed ewes. The mRNA expression of vascular endothelial growth factor and Fms-like tyrosine kinase 1 was increased (P < 0.05) in 50% NRC ewes than in 100% NRC ewes, and had no effect (P > 0.05) in both NCG-and RP-Arg-treated underfed ewes. A supplement of RP-Arg and NCG reduced (P < 0.05) the concentrations of progesterone, cortisol, and estradiol-17β; had no effect on T 4 /T 3 ; and improved (P < 0.05) the concentrations of leptin, insulin-like growth factor 1, tri-iodothyronine (T 3 ), and thyroxine (T 4 ) in serum from underfed ewes. These results indicate that dietary supplementation of NCG and RP-Arg in underfed ewes could influence maternal endocrine status, improve the maternal-fetal-placental antioxidation capability, and promote fetal and placental development during early-to-late gestation.

Dietary Supplementation of L-Arginine and N-Carbamylglutamate Attenuated the Hepatic Inflammatory Response and Apoptosis in Suckling Lambs with Intrauterine Growth Retardation

“…The experimental groups were (1) the control group (CON)-lambs with NBW and fed MR only; (2) the IUGR group-lambs with IUGR and fed MR only; (3) the L-Arg group-IUGR lambs fed MR plus 1% L-Arg (Ajinomoto Co., Ltd. (Beijing, China)); or (4) the NCG group-IUGR lambs fed MR plus 0.1% NCG of 97% purity provided by Sigma-Aldrich (St. Louis, Missouri, USA). The L-Arg and NCG doses were designed based on previous research [18,21,35]. These diets featured the same amounts of nitrogen (equilibrated by alanine) and energy.…”

“…Maternal nutrition of L-arginine (L-Arg), a semiessential amino acid, and its precursor N-carbamylglutamate (NCG) during pregnancy has been shown to mitigate the IUGRmetabolic disruptions in ovine fetus [18][19][20][21] and rat offspring [22] and enhance fetal development and neonatal survival and growth in mammals [23][24][25]. Also, L-Arg and NCG have been shown to protect the liver against lipid peroxidation [26][27][28] as well as play a key role in inflammatory response regulation [29].…”

“…Also, L-Arg and NCG have been shown to protect the liver against lipid peroxidation [26][27][28] as well as play a key role in inflammatory response regulation [29]. Our team conducted a series of studies on Hu sheep, a prolific and precocious native breed in China, where L-Arg and NCG were fed to either underfed ewes from day 35 to day 110 of gestation [18,21,30,31] or to IUGR lambs in the period from day 7 to day 28 after birth [32]. Results of these study series revealed the capability of L-Arg and NCG to enhance fetal and placental development and antioxidant capacity [21]; ameliorate fetal growth retardation in underfed ewes [30]; improve the amino acid profile in the liver and muscles; modulate the somatotropic axis gene expression in fetuses from underfed ewes [18]; and improve intestinal integrity and energy balance, immune response, and antioxidant defense of IUGR suckling lambs [32].…”

Metabolomic profiling in umbilical venous plasma reveals effects of dietary rumen‐protected arginine or N‐carbamylglutamate supplementation in nutrient‐restricted Hu sheep during pregnancy

“…The doses of RP-Arg and NCG were based on previous studies (Chacher, Zhu, Ye, Wang, & Liu, 2014;Saevre et al, 2010;Wu et al, 2012;Zeng et al, 2012). The dietary composition is described by a previous publication of our group (Zhang, Sun, Wang, Deng, Nie, Zhang, et al, 2016). Beginning on GD 50 and continuing at 20-day intervals, ewes were weighed and rations adjusted for weight gain.…”

The net iron, manganese, copper, and zinc requirements for maintenance and growth of Dorper × Hu ewe lambs

“…It originated in South Africa and is characterised by hardiness, early maturity, and rapid growth (Cloete et al 2000). The Hu sheep is a Chinese indigenous breed that is well adapted to the ecological conditions of high temperature and high humidity areas of China and is noted for its beautiful lamb skin, precociousness and prolificacy (Yue 1996;Zhang et al 2016). The Dorper  Hu crossbred sheep has, therefore, become one of the dominant crossbreds for lamb meat production in China (Zhang et al 2015(Zhang et al , 2017.…”