Dietary dihydroartemisinin supplementation alleviates intestinal inflammatory injury through TLR4/NOD/NF-κB signaling pathway in weaned piglets with intrauterine growth retardation

The aim of present study was to evaluate whether diets supplemented with dihydroartemisinin (DHA) could alleviate intestinal inflammatory injury in weaned piglets intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR). Twelve normal birth weight (NBW) and 12 IUGR were fed a basal diet (NBW-CON IUCR-CON groups), another the DHA at 80 mg/kg (IUGR-DHA group) from 21 49 d age. At age, 8 similar body each group sacrificed. jejunal ileal samples collected for further analysis. results showed that impaired morphology, increased response, raised enterocyte apoptosis reduced proliferation activated transmembrane toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4)/nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain (NOD)/nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) signaling pathway. Dihydroartemisinin inclusion ameliorated indicated by villus height, height-to-crypt depth ratio, surface area decreased width ( P < 0.05). Compared NBW piglets, exhibited higher index caspase-3 expression, lower proliferating cell nuclear antigen expression intestine supplementation attenuated inflammation IUGR, concentrations cytokines lipopolysaccharides In addition, down-regulated related mRNA expressions TLR4/NOD/NF-κB pathway upregulated negative regulators TLR4 NOD Piglets IUGR-DHA protein TLR4, phosphorylated NF-κB (pNF-κB) inhibitor α, pNF-κB, cytoplasmic pNF-κB than those IUGR-CON conclusion, improve regulate apoptosis, through IUGR.