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Reduced meal frequency alleviates high-fat diet-induced lipid accumulation and inflammation in adipose tissue of pigs under the circumstance of fixed feed allowance

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Abstract

Purpose

The present study was conducted to determine whether reduced meal frequency (MF) could restore high-fat diet (HFD)-modified phenotypes and microbiota under the condition of fixed feed allowance.

Methods

A total of 32 barrows with initial weight of 61.6 ± 0.8 kg were assigned to two diets [control diet (CON) versus HFD] and two meal frequencies [12 equal meals/day (M12) versus 2 equal meals/day (M2)], the trial lasted 8 weeks. The lipid metabolism and inflammatory response in adipose tissue as well as the profiles of intestinal microbiota and bacterial-derived metabolites were determined.

Results

M2 versus M12 feeding regimen decreased perirenal fat weight and serum triglyceride and liposaccharide (LPS) concentrations in HFD-fed pigs (P < 0.05). Reduced MF down-regulated mRNA expression of lipoprotein lipase, CD36 molecule, interleukin 1 beta, tumor necrosis factor alpha, toll-like receptor 4, myeloid differentiation factor 88 (MYD88), and nuclear factor kappa beta 1 as well as protein expression of MYD88 in perirenal fat of HFD-fed pigs (P < 0.05). M2 feeding regimen increased abundance of Prevotella and decreased abundance of Bacteroides in colonic content of HFD-fed pigs (P < 0.05). No difference in short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) profile in colonic content was observed among four groups (P > 0.05).

Conclusion

Our results suggested that M2 versus M12 feeding regimen ameliorated HFD-induced fat deposition and inflammatory response by decreasing fatty acid uptake and deactivating LPS/TLR4 signaling pathway in adipose tissue and restoring microbiota composition in distal intestine, without affecting SCFAs profile in distal luminal content.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31802069) and Sichuan Science and Technology Program (2018JY0225).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Life Science and Engineering, Southwest University of Science and Technology, 621010, Mianyang, People’s Republic of China

    Honglin Yan, Shanchuan Cao, Yan Li & Jingbo Liu

  2. State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, Institute of Animal Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 100193, Beijing, People’s Republic of China

    Hongfu Zhang & Jingbo Liu

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  1. Honglin Yan
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  2. Shanchuan Cao
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  4. Hongfu Zhang
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Correspondence to Jingbo Liu.

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Fig. S1

Effects of diet type and meal frequency on mRNA abundances of short-chain fatty acids receptors in perirenal fat of finishing pigs. (a) FFAR2, free fatty acid receptor 2, also known as GPR43; (b) FFAR3, free fatty acid receptor 3, also known as GPR41. CON, control diet; HF, high-fat diet; M12, pigs receiving 12 equal meals per day; M2, pigs receiving 2 equal meals per day, MF, meal frequency, NS, no significant difference. Means with different lowercase letters represent significant differences between groups (PDF 494 KB)

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Yan, H., Cao, S., Li, Y. et al. Reduced meal frequency alleviates high-fat diet-induced lipid accumulation and inflammation in adipose tissue of pigs under the circumstance of fixed feed allowance. Eur J Nutr 59, 595–608 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00394-019-01928-3

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