<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>Β-hydroxy-β-methylbutyrate (HMB) is one of the leucine metabolites with protein anabolic effects which makes it very popular among athletes. Previously, it was shown that HMB administered during the prenatal period reduced the pool of primordial follicles and increased the proportion of developing follicles in newborn piglets. This work is a further step to understand these morphological alterations. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine the effect of prenatal HMB treatment on the expression of the Kit ligand, BMP-4, bFGF, and the IGF-1/IGF-1R system which are the main growth factors controlling follicular development. Excised ovaries from 12 newborn piglets, originated from the control (n=6) and HMB-treated (n=6) sows were used for immunohistochemical and western-blot analysis. The tested proteins were localized within egg nests and ovarian follicles. Furthermore, the western-blot assay indicated higher BMP-4, Kit ligand, and IGF-1R expression, while the level of bFGF and IGF-1 proteins decreased after HMB dietary treatment. These findings show that HMB included into sow diet can modulate the expression of growth factors and thereby alter ovarian morphology in offspring. Therefore, this study opens a discussion about the benefits and risks of the diet supplemented with HMB and its potential application in medicine and animal husbandry, and further research is necessary in this area.</p></abstract>

Β-hydroxy-β-methylbutyrate (HMB) is one of the leucine metabolites with protein anabolic effects which makes it very popular among athletes. Previously, it was shown that HMB administered during the prenatal period reduced the pool of primordial follicles and increased the proportion of developing follicles in newborn piglets. This work is a further step to understand these morphological alterations. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine the effect of prenatal HMB treatment on the expression of the Kit ligand, BMP-4, bFGF, and the IGF-1/IGF-1R system which are the main growth factors controlling follicular development. Excised ovaries from 12 newborn piglets, originated from the control (n=6) and HMB-treated (n=6) sows were used for immunohistochemical and western-blot analysis. The tested proteins were localized within egg nests and ovarian follicles. Furthermore, the western-blot assay indicated higher BMP-4, Kit ligand, and IGF-1R expression, while the level of bFGF and IGF-1 proteins decreased after HMB dietary treatment. These findings show that HMB included into sow diet can modulate the expression of growth factors and thereby alter ovarian morphology in offspring. Therefore, this study opens a discussion about the benefits and risks of the diet supplemented with HMB and its potential application in medicine and animal husbandry, and further research is necessary in this area.

Regulation of Folliculogenesis by Growth Factors in Piglet Ovary Exposed Prenatally to β-Hydroxy-β-Methylbutyrate (HMB)

Department of Comparative Anatomy and Anthropology

Department of Biophysics, Faculty of Environmental Biology

Department of Animal Nutrition and Feed Science

Department of Animal Physiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine

Annals of Animal Science

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Β-hydroxy-β-methylbutyrate (HMB) is one of the leucine metabolites with protein anabolic effects which makes it very popular among athletes. Previously, it was...

Regulation of Folliculogenesis by Growth Factors in Piglet Ovary Exposed Prenatally to β-Hydroxy-β-Methylbutyrate (HMB)

Data publikacji: 01 sie 2020

Zakres stron: 899 - 917

Otrzymano: 16 wrz 2019

Przyjęty: 25 lut 2020

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/aoas-2020-0026

Słowa kluczowe
β-hydroxy-β-methylbutyrate, folliculogenesis, piglets, growth factors

© 2020 Monika Hułas-Stasiak et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Regulation of Folliculogenesis by Growth Factors in Piglet Ovary Exposed Prenatally to β-Hydroxy-β-Methylbutyrate (HMB)

Data publikacji: 01 sie 2020

Zakres stron: 899 - 917

Otrzymano: 16 wrz 2019

Przyjęty: 25 lut 2020

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/aoas-2020-0026

Słowa kluczoweβ-hydroxy-β-methylbutyrate, folliculogenesis, piglets, growth factors

© 2020 Monika Hułas-Stasiak et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Słowa kluczowe
β-hydroxy-β-methylbutyrate, folliculogenesis, piglets, growth factors