Heat stress reduces intestinal barrier integrity and favors intestinal glucose transport in growing pigs

• Published in: PloS one 2013-08, Vol.8 (8), p.e70215
• Main Authors: Pearce, Sarah C, Mani, Venkatesh, Boddicker, Rebecca L, Johnson, Jay S, Weber, Thomas E, Ross, Jason W, Rhoads, Robert P, Baumgard, Lance H, Gabler, Nicholas K
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Absorptivity; Agriculture; Animal body heat; Animal sciences; Animals; Apoptosis; Biological Transport; Biology; Body weight; Casein; Casein kinase II; Colon; Cytokines; Endotoxins; Feeds; Glucose; Glucose - metabolism; Glucose transport; Heat; Heat shock proteins; Heat stress; Heat tolerance; Heat-Shock Response; Heatstroke; Hogs; Hsp70 protein; Humidity; Hyperthermia; Hypoxia; Ileum; Inflammation; Integrity; Intestinal Absorption; Intestine; Intestines; Intestines - immunology; Intestines - metabolism; Intestines - physiology; Medicine; Metabolism; Myosin; Myosin-light-chain kinase; Na+/K+-exchanging ATPase; Permeability; Phenotype; Phosphorylation; Physiological aspects; Pigs; Proteins; Rectum; Respiration; Rodents; Small intestine; Swine; Swine - growth & development; Swine - immunology; Swine - metabolism; Swine - physiology; Time Factors; Veterinary Science; Zoology
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0070215

Excessive heat exposure reduces intestinal integrity and post-absorptive energetics that can inhibit wellbeing and be fatal. Therefore, our objectives were to examine how acute heat stress (HS) alters intestinal integrity and metabolism in growing pigs. Animals were exposed to either thermal neutral (TN, 21°C; 35-50% humidity; n=8) or HS conditions (35°C; 24-43% humidity; n=8) for 24 h. Compared to TN, rectal temperatures in HS pigs increased by 1.6°C and respiration rates by 2-fold (P