Recipient Organization
IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
515 MORRILL RD, 1350 BEARDSHEAR HALL
AMES,IA 50011-2105
Performing Department
NADC
Non Technical Summary
Early in life, pigs undergo intestinal distress from weaning, caused by separation from their mothers, dietary changes, and introduction to a new environment. Weaning events lead to shifts in the intestinal microbiota, increased leakiness of the intestinal tract, increased levels of stress hormones, and introduction of new dietary and environentalmolecules that can stimulate the immune system; however, negative weaning impacts are reduced by weaning animals at a later age. All the aforementioned factors are known to influence immune cells residing in the lining of the intestinal tract, which are some of theearliest immune cells recruited to the intestine and play an important role in shaping the immune environment early in lifeand subsequent overall animal health. Though immune cells within the intestinal lining have been identified in pigs, the role of these cells in different health outcomes related to weaning age has not been well established.To investigate, pigs will be weaned at 21 or 28 days of age, and abundance, types of cells, and function of immune cells located within the intestinal lining will be evaluated in the weeks following weaning. Markers of intestinal leakiness and differences of bacteria in the intestine will also be assessed for correlation with immune cell dynamics.Collectively, the ultimate goal is to identify non-antibiotic intervention strategies affecting the intestinal immune system in early life to improve intestinal and overall health. Towards this goal, this research will demonstrate howweaning age influences immune cells in the intestinal lining and their role in establishing different health outcomesimportant for identifying mechanisms by which early life intervention strategies can positively impact intestinal immune status and overall animal health.
Animal Health Component
25%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
75%
Applied
25%
Developmental
0%
Goals / Objectives
Ourlong-term research goalis to identify non-antibiotic intervention strategies that affect the intestinal immune system in early life to improve intestinal and overall animal health. Our project goal is to obtain knowledge toimprove swine industry's understanding of immune factors relating to intraepithelial T cells causing post-weaning intestinal distress and help work towards intervention strategies to alleviate these conditions.To work towards this goal, project research objectives are as follows:Demonstrate later weaning allows the intestinal barrier, microbiota, and immune system to better stabilize prior to weaning-induced stressDemonstrate weaning age impacts intraepithelial T cell abundance and function, specifically skewing towards a less inflammatory state at the end of the nursery phase when pigs are weaned at an older ageOur professionaldevelopment goalis tofacilitate growth of independence, skills, and professional experiences the program directorrequires to successfully prepare for an independent post-doctoral career as a veterinary immunologistin agricultural research. Professional development objectives for the project directorare as follows:Develop and investigate self-formulatedresearch hypothesesSeek out and facilitate scientific collaboration to execute multidisciplinary researchDevelop confidence and independence in making logical and justified research decisionsContinuously analyze and share research results to improve scientific written and communication skills
Project Methods
Parameters of intraepithelial T cells (IETs), microbiota, and barrier integrity will be measured and compared between standard and late weaned pigs pre-weaning, 2 days post-weaning (dpw), 7 dpw, and at 8 weeks of age.Data will be analyzed to assess potential correlations between reduced prevalence of inflammatory IETs and less severe post-weaning alterations to the intestinal microbiota and barrier integrity in pigs weaned at a later age.Indicators of reduced inflammatory IET prevelance to be assessed will include reduced IET abundance (analyzed by immunohistochemistry), reduced expression of activation markers on IETs (analyzed by flow cytometry), andincreased expression of genes related to transcriptional regulation over cellular activation/immune response to external stimuli (analyzed by RNA sequencing). Indicators of reduced microbial alterations will be assessed via 16S rRNA sequencing, where microbial perturbations across collection timepointsare expected to be minimized in association with less severe post-weaning alterations in later weaned animals. Less severe alterations to barrier integrity will be assessed by immunohistochemistry and RNAin-situhybridization, where markers of barrier integrity are expected to be increased and markers of barrier permeability decreased in correlation with less severe post-weaning alterations in later weaned animals.