Table 3. The effects of dietary RB on gut (ileum) epithelial health during HRV infection in Gn pigs colonized with LGG and EcN.
| Treatments | Euthanasia day | n | Mitotic index | Villus length (mm) | Crypt depth (mm) | V:C | V:C score | Villus width (mm) | Lamina propria cells |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RB+LGG+EcN | PCD 0 | 6 | 0.11 (0.01) | 0.4 (0.02) | 0.14 (0.01) | 2.75 (0.14) | 3.83 (0.17) | 0.04 (0)B | 1.58 (0.20) |
| PCD 3 | 4 | 0.08 (0.01)B | 0.4 (0.05) | 0.13 (0.01) | 2.98 (0.30) | 3.5 (0.29) | 0.04 (0)B | 1.25 (0.25) | |
| PCD 7 | 6 | 0.11 (0.01)B | 0.37 (0.02) | 0.13 (0.01) | 2.86 (0.17) | 3.5 (0.22) | 0.04 (0)B | 1.75 (0.25)A | |
| LGG+EcN | PCD 0 | 5 | 0.06 (0.02)b | 0.37 (0.01) | 0.14 (0.01) | 2.73 (0.18) | 3.6 (0.24) | 0.05 (0)Ab | 2.2 (0.20)a |
| PCD 3 | 6 | 0.29 (0.06)Aa | 0.33 (0.03) | 0.14 (0.00) | 2.41 (0.22) | 4.00 (0) | 0.06 (0)Ab | 0.67 (0.25)b | |
| PCD 7 | 6 | 0.30 (0.02)Aa | 0.30 (0.03) | 0.13 (0.01) | 2.75 (0.23) | 3.67 (0.21) | 0.07 (0.01)Aa. | 0.83 (0.21)Bb |
After euthanasia, H & E stained sections of ileum from each pig were prepared and read by a veterinary pathologist blinded to the identity of the animals. Mean values for each parameter is presented. Number in the parenthesis is standard error of mean. Kruskal-Wallis rank sum test was used for comparisons. Different upper case letters indicate significant differences between groups at the same time point; different lower case letters indicate significant differences among the time points within the same group (n = 4–6; p < 0.05), while shared letters or no letters indicate no significant difference.