• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.429-438
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• 2018

Objective: Although the efficacy of Rubus coreanus (RC) byproducts as a feed additive has been recognized, its effects on intestinal microorganisms and the immune system are still unknown. Methods: Six-week-old male rats were treated with 0.5% RC (T1), 1.0% RC (T2), and 1.5% RC (T3) for 4 weeks. Results: We found that treatment with RC byproducts significantly increased the daily gain of body weight and feed intake. Treg-cell differentiation was enhanced in the mesenteric lymph nodes and spleen from the rats fed with RC byproducts. Illumina sequencing showed that bacteria in the phylum Firmicutes decreased and while those in the phylum Bacteroidetes increased in RC-treated groups. Particularly, the pathogenic microorganisms in the family Peptococcaceae decreased, and the non-pathogenic families Lachnospiraceae and S24-7 increased. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction analysis showed that the RC byproducts increased the lactic acid bacteria Bifidobacterium spp., Oscillospira spp., Leuconostoc citreum, and Weissella cibaria in a concentration-dependent manner. Conclusion: RC byproducts may be effective in immunomodulation by affecting intestinal microorganisms.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.33-37
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• 2012

One of the biggest challenges for the animal feed industry in the coming years will be to meet the growing demand in animal protein in light of increased cost of feed ingredient as well as tougher restrictions on the use of antimicrobial growth promoters imposed by consumers and governments. A key focus area will be to maximise feed efficiency and minimise nutrient waste. It has been widely acknowledged that the composition of the intestinal microflora is closely related to intestinal health and performance of animals. Advanced microbial techniques have shown a close relationship between bacterial communities and their ability to modulate nutrient absorption and processing. In addition it has been recognised that modulating the immune response has significant impact on overall health as well as overall nutrient demand. Molecular techniques are a useful tool to gain an understanding of the impact of dietary interventions including the use of functional feed additives on specific changes in microbial communities or the immune system. Most these techniques however focus on the evaluation of large changes in bacterial compositions and often underestimate or neglect to recognise small changes in microbial diversity or behaviour changes without any measurable immune response. The key to understanding the relationship between specific nutritional intervention and the impact on health and performance lies in a deeper understanding of the impact of these nutrients on the expression of specific genes or specific metabolic pathways. The development of molecular tools as a result of developments in the field of Nutrigenomics has enabled researchers to study the effects of specific nutrients on the whole genome or in other words, the effect of thousands of genes simultaneously, and has opened a completely different avenue for nutritional research.

• Journal of Animal Reproduction and Biotechnology
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• v.39 no.1
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• pp.2-11
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• 2024

Background: The small intestine plays a crucial role in animals in maintaining homeostasis as well as a series of physiological events such as nutrient uptake and immune function to improve productivity. Research on intestinal organoids has recently garnered interest, aiming to study various functions of the intestinal epithelium as a potential alternative to an in vivo system. These technologies have created new possibilities and opportunities for substituting animals for testing with an in vitro model. Methods: Here, we report the establishment and characterisation of intestinal organoids derived from jejunum tissues of adult pigs. Intestinal crypts, including intestinal stem cells from the jejunum tissue of adult pigs (10 months old), were sequentially isolated and cultivated over several passages without losing their proliferation and differentiation using the scaffold-based and three-dimensional method, which indicated the recapitulating capacity. Results: Porcine jejunum-derived intestinal organoids showed the specific expression of several genes related to intestinal stem cells and the epithelium. Furthermore, they showed high permeability when exposed to FITC-dextran 4 kDa, representing a barrier function similar to that of in vivo tissues. Collectively, these results demonstrate the efficient cultivation and characteristics of porcine jejunum-derived intestinal organoids. Conclusions: In this study, using a 3D culture system, we successfully established porcine jejunum-derived intestinal organoids. They show potential for various applications, such as for nutrient absorption as an in vitro model of the intestinal epithelium fused with organ-on-a-chip technology to improve productivity in animal biotechnology in future studies.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.596-608
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• 2003

Weaning is a complex phase when the mammal suffers the action of different stressors that contribute to negatively affect the efficiency of the intestinal mucosa and of the whole local integrated system, that acts as barrier against any nocuous agent. The components of this barrier are mechanical, chemical, and bacteriological; immunological and not. The development of contact with a saprophyte microflora and the maintenance of feed intake after the interruption of motherly nutrition are essential for the maturation of an equilibrated local immune function and for a functional integrity of villi. Opportunities and limits of some dietary strategies that can contribute to reduce negative effects of weaning on health and performance are discussed. Knowledges on the possible mechanism of action of probiotics are upgraded, particularly for their supposed role in the balance between different immune functions (effectory/regulatory). Some tools to control pathogen microflora are reviewed (acids, herbs, immunoglobulin sources) and practical feeding systems are proposed.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.54 no.4
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• pp.232-239
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• 2010

Stems and roots of Acanthopanax koreanum Nakai were extracted with water and treated on immune cells in order to determine their immunomodulatory activites. Various Th-1 type cytokines were measured using ELISA including interleukin (IL)-2, IL-12, interferon-gamma (IFN-$gamma$), and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-$\alpha$) secreted by dendritic cells, T-cells, intestinal epithelial cells, natural killer cells, and macrophages. As a result, there was a significant increase in IL-12 and IFN-$\gamma$, secretion, but there was no change in the secretion of TNF-$alpha$. Additionally T-cells slightly increased the secretion of IL-2, but there was a significant increase of IL-2 in intestinal epithelial cells. Therefore, our results suggest that A. koreanum Nakai may act as an immunomodulator by stimulating the cell-mediated immunity which can help the immune system defend against infections or cancer cells.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.1-12
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• 2010

The immune system is generally divided into the innate and the adopted immune systems, both protecting the body from pathogens. Recently, allergies, a disease associated with an imbalanced immune system, have increased rapidly in developed countries. Prevailing symptoms of allergic diseases are eczema, allergic rhinitis, asthma, inflammatory bowel disease, and food allergy. Probiotic bacteria, mainly consisting of lactic acid bacteria, are used in the prevention and treatment of allergic diseases. The function of them is to stimulate the intestinal immune cells and form a complex signal network to activate other immune cells. Beneficial health effects of probiotics are based on the hygiene hypothesis, which suggests that sanitary environment is important for health, but limited exposure to environmental factors increases allergic diseases. An immunoregulatory effect of probiotic bacteria is demonstrated by controlled trial, animal model, in vitro, in vivo and ex vivo designs. However, the immunoregulatory effect of probiotic bacteria is controversial because it depends on probiotic strains, a dose and a type of diseases. In this review, we discussed clinical evidences on immunoregulatory effects of probiotic bacteria.

• The Journal of Pediatrics of Korean Medicine
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.31-42
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• 2020

Objectives The purpose of this study is to perform a review on recent researches of Hataedock, a traditional method of removing fetal toxin by dropping herbal extracts in the mouth, to appraise its preventive and therapeutic effects of diseases. Methods Studies of Hataedock were extracted from both Chinese and Korean medical journals published within 10 years, from January 2010 to January 2020. Clinical studies and experimental researches were analyzed and categorized to skin disease, allergic rhinitis, intestinal mucosa inflammation and anal fistula for further evaluation. Results Among 194 studies were searched and screened, 22 met designated criteria. Hataedock showed the effectiveness in treating skin disease, allergic rhinitis, intestinal mucosa inflammation and anal fistula by maintaining skin barrier and regulating immune system. Coptis japonica, Glycyrrhiza uralensis, and Fermented Glycine max were mainly used as herbal extracts in Hataedock. Conclusion This study shows the recent research trends of Hataedock and suggests that Hataedock can be considered as a method of treatment or prevention to some of the incurable chronic diseases.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.3 no.3
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• pp.169-175
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• 2003

The intestinal immune system can discriminate between harmful and unharmful antigens and do not provoke productive immunity to unharmful antigen. Thus oral administration of antigen is one of classical methods for inducing antigen-specific immune tolerance in the periphery. Furthermore, oral tolerance has been investigated for the treatment of autoimmune disorders in human clinical trials. However, the detail mechanism of oral tolerance and contributing factors are not defined clearly at this time. Recent studies demonstrate unique types of immune cell that suppressing immune response, such as regulatory T cell and tolerogenic dendritic cell. This article reviews the factors involved in oral tolerance and discusses our current understanding base on the recent literatures and our works.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.63 no.6
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• pp.1314-1327
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• 2021

Bacillus is characterized by the formation of spores in harsh environments, which makes it suitable for use as a probiotic for feed because of thermostability and high survival rate, even under long-term storage. This study was conducted to investigate the effects of Bacillus-based probiotics on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, intestinal morphology, immune response, and intestinal microbiota of weaned pigs. A total of 40 weaned pigs (7.01 ± 0.86 kg body weight [BW]; 28 d old) were randomly assigned to two treatments (4 pigs/pen; 5 replicates/treatment) in a randomized complete block design (block = BW and sex). The dietary treatment was either a typical nursery diet based on corn and soybean meal (CON) or CON supplemented with 0.01% probiotics containing a mixture of Bacillus subtilis and Bacillus licheniformis (PRO). Fecal samples were collected daily by rectal palpation for the last 3 days after a 4-day adaptation. Blood, ileal digesta, and intestinal tissue samples were collected from one pig in each pen at the respective time points. The PRO group did not affect the feed efficiency, but the average daily gain was significantly improved (p < 0.05). The PRO group showed a trend of improved crude protein digestibility (p < 0.10). The serum transforming growth factor-β1 level tended to be higher (p < 0.10) in the PRO group on days 7 and 14. There was no difference in phylum level of the intestinal microbiota, but there were differences in genus composition and proportions. However, β-diversity analysis showed no statistical differences between the CON and the PRO groups. Taken together, Bacillus-based probiotics had beneficial effects on the growth performance, immune system, and intestinal microbiota of weaned pigs, suggesting that Bacillus can be utilized as a functional probiotic for weaned pigs.

• Food Science and Industry
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• v.48 no.1
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• pp.62-68
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• 2015