Fig 2. Relative mRNA levels of BCL2A1, CCL19, GPx2, IL8, MT3, NCF1, NDUFB2, NDUFB7 and TXNRD2 were analyzed in mucosa of the jejunum of from the two experimental groups of piglets from different ages throughout the peri-weaning period.

Bars in the graphs represent least-square means ± SEM of 10 piglets. Asterisk (*) indicates a significant effect of the age on means at P ≤ 0.05. Dagger (†) indicates a significant effect of the birth weight on means at P ≤ 0.05. In all cases, the interaction between age and birth weight is not significant P > 0.05. Pound (#) indicates that means tended to be affected by birth weight at P < 0.10. Detailed P-Values for main effects and interactions are available in S15 Table in S1 File and comparative analysis with litter and gender as random cofactors in S16 Table in S1 File and box plot of raw data distribution in S4 Fig in S1 File. Ages with different letters (a, b, c, d) within the graphs are statistically different at P ≤ 0.05. LBW = low-birth weight piglets; NBW = normal-birth weight piglets; (A) BCL2A1 = B-cell lymphoma 2-related protein A1 (B) CCL19 = c-c motif chemokine ligand 19; (C) GPx2 = glutathione peroxidase 2; (D) IL8 = interleukin 8; (E) MT3 = metallothionein 3; (F) NCF1 = neutrophil cytosol factor 1; (G) NDUFB2 = NADH ubiquinone oxidoreductase subunit B2; (H) NDUFB7 = NADH ubiquinone oxidoreductase subunit B7; (I) TXNRD2 = thioredoxin reductase 2.