The suckling stage is a critical window time for the development of human and animal neonates. Our previous study found that an early-life galactooligosaccharide (GOS) intervention could improve the growth status of suckling piglets; however, the difference in the metabolic status between different treatment groups still remains unclear. In the present study, sixty neonatal piglets were used to investigate the effects of early-life GOS intervention on the hepatic metabolic profiles of piglets. In the first week after birth, the piglets in the GOS and control (CON) groups were fed with GOS solution (10 mL for 1 g per kg body weight per day) and physiological saline, respectively. On days 8 and 21, six piglets from each group were euthanized for sampling. Compared with the CON piglets, the GOS piglets showed a lower total serum cholesterol concentration on day 8, but a higher concentration of serum HDL-C and albumin on day 21. Principal component analysis and partial least-squares discriminant analysis showed a dramatic difference in the composition of hepatic metabolic profiles between the two groups. The GOS intervention mainly affected the lipid and amino acid metabolism of the piglets. Meanwhile, the mRNA levels of CPT-1 and PCG1α increased in the GOS piglets’ liver. Additionally, with the accumulation of antioxidant-related metabolites in the GOS piglet liver, the hepatic mitochondrial antioxidant capacity increased, and the phosphorylation of AMP-activated protein kinase and the protein expression levels of nuclear factor-erythroid-2-related factor 2 and heme oxygenase-1 were also upregulated in the liver. In conclusion, our findings provide new insights into the effects of galactooligosaccharides on the growth of suckling piglets.

中文翻译：

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早期低聚半乳糖干预可改变仔猪肝脏的代谢特性，提高线粒体的抗氧化能力并激活AMPK / Nrf2信号通路。

哺乳阶段是人类和动物新生儿发育的关键窗口时间。我们先前的研究发现，早期的低聚半乳糖（GOS）干预可以改善乳猪的生长状况。然而，不同治疗组之间代谢状态的差异仍然不清楚。在本研究中，使用60只新生仔猪来研究早期GOS干预对仔猪肝脏代谢谱的影响。在出生后的第一周，分别向GOS和对照组（CON）组的仔猪饲喂GOS溶液（每天每千克体重1 g 10 mL）和生理盐水。在第8天和第21天，对每组的6只仔猪实施安乐死进行采样。与CON仔猪相比 GOS仔猪在第8天显示较低的总血清胆固醇浓度，但在第21天显示较高的血清HDL-C和白蛋白浓度。主成分分析和偏最小二乘判别分析显示，肝脏代谢谱的组成存在显着差异两组之间。GOS干预主要影响仔猪的脂质和氨基酸代谢。同时，mRNA的水平COS -1和PCG1α在GOS仔猪的肝脏中增加。此外，随着GOS仔猪肝脏中抗氧化剂相关代谢产物的积累，肝线粒体的抗氧化能力增强，AMP激活的蛋白激酶的磷酸化以及核因子-类胡萝卜素-2相关因子2和血红素的蛋白表达水平肝脏中的加氧酶-1也上调。总之，我们的发现为低聚半乳糖对乳猪生长的影响提供了新的见解。