Interactions of Saccharomyces cerevisiae fermentation product and in-feed antibiotic on gastrointestinal and immunological responses in piglets challenged with Escherichia coli K88

Interactive effects between in-feed antibiotics (PC; 0.04% chlortetracycline + 0.004% Denagard) and a Saccharomyces cerevisiae fermentation product (XPC) were investigated. Five pens of 3 pigs/pen were randomly allotted to one of six diets consisting of control (NC; no additives), XPC alone (0.2%), PC alone, or PC plus one of three levels of XPC (0.1, 0.2, or 0.4%). On day 7, all pigs were bled for baseline serum and then orally inoculated with a 6-mL dose of 2 x 10(9) cfu/mL of ciprofloxacin-resistant Escherichia coli K88(+) (ETEC). Severity of diarrhea, using fecal score (FS), was assessed on days 8, 9, and 10. On day 10, pigs were bled and 1 pig/pen was killed to obtain gastrointestinal (GIT) samples. Remaining pigs were monitored for another 4 d and then killed to obtain GIT samples. Pigs fed PC and XPC in combination of PC had a lower (P = 0.02) FS than NC. The PC pigs had lower (P = 0.02) serum interleukin-6 and XPC pigs had higher (P < 0.01) serum tumor necrosis factor-α than NC pigs. Ileal mucosal ETEC count was lower on day 10 (P = 0.04) and day 14 (P < 0.01) when additives were fed in combination. Microbiome analysis of day 10 digesta using pyrosequencing showed that pigs fed the PC with XPC had enriched (P = 0.01) Streptococcaceae family than PC fed alone. On day 10, pigs fed PC alone and in combination with XPC at a lower dose had shallower (P = 0.01) crypt depth than those fed higher doses of XPC, XPC alone, or NC. Pigs fed XPC had a thicker colon wall on day 10 (P < 0.01) compared to those fed non-XPC diets. Ileal and colonic digesta NH(3) concentration was lower (P < 0.05) for pigs fed additives-containing diets on days 10 and 14. Feeding PC or XPC reduced diarrhea and the number of ETEC attached to the ileal mucosa; however, responses suggest independent and interactive effects that might be associated with the nature of these additives.