Effects of dietary methionine restriction on postnatal growth, insulin sensitivity, and glucose metabolism in intrauterine growth retardation pigs at 49 and 105 d of age

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of methionine restriction (MR) on growth performance, insulin sensitivity, and hepatic and muscle glucose metabolism in intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) pigs at 49 and 105 d of age. At weaning (day 21), 30 female normal birth weight (NBW) piglets were fed control diets with adequate methionine (NBW-CON), whereas 60 female IUGR piglets were fed either the control diets (IUGR-CON) or MR diets which were 30% reduced in methionine (IUGR-MR) (n = 6 replicates (pens) with five piglets per replicate). At 49 and 105 d of age, one pig with a BW near to the mean of each replication was selected for biochemical analysis. Compared with NBW-CON pigs, IUGR-CON pigs exhibited lower relative daily gain (RDG) and homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) index at day 49 (P < 0.05), but higher RDG and HOMA-IR index at day 105 (P < 0.05). Hepatic phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase and glucose-6-phosphatase (G6Pase) activities were higher in IUGR-CON than NBW-CON pigs at both days 49 and 105 (P < 0.05), while hepatic glycogen synthase and glycogen phosphorylase activities were lower in IUGR-CON pigs at both two ages (P < 0.05). In addition, compared with NBWCON pigs, IUGR-CON pigs (105-d old) had lower protein kinase B phosphorylation (PKB/Akt) in liver (P < 0.05), but not in muscle (P > 0.05). Compared with IUGR-CON pigs, IUGR-MR pigs had lower RDG at day 49, less blood glucose at day 105, and lower HOMA-IR index at both days 49 and 105 (P < 0.05). Additionally, compared with IUGR-CON pigs, MR decreased IUGR-MR pigs' hepatic G6Pase activities and increased their hepatic glycogen contents at day 105 (P < 0.05), as well as increased their hepatic and muscle PKB/Akt phosphorylation (P < 0.05). In conclusion, the ability of dietary MR to restrict IUGR pigs' growth and to reduce blood glucose appeared, respectively, in earlier and later period, but MR improved IUGR pigs' insulin sensitivity at both days 49 and 105.