Elsevier

The Journal of Nutrition

Volume 138, Issue 12, December 2008, Pages 2392-2398
The Journal of Nutrition

Supplementing Suckling Rats with Whey Protein Concentrate Modulates the Immune Response and Ameliorates Rat Rotavirus-Induced Diarrhea12

https://doi.org/10.3945/jn.108.093856Get rights and content
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Abstract

Group A rotaviruses (RV) are the most common causative agents of acute gastroenteritis in children <2 y. The present study was designed to establish the effect of a bovine whey protein concentrate (WPC) in a RV infection model in suckling rats. From d 3 of life, suckling Lewis rats received daily supplements of WPC, WPC plus lactoferrin (LF), standard infant formula (SIF), or water (RV-infected group and an untreated, uninfected reference group). On d 8 of life, heterologous simian RV SA-11 was inoculated orally in the WPC-RV, WPC+LF-RV, SIF-RV, and RV groups. WPC and WPC+LF reduced diarrhea incidence from ∼90% in RV group to ∼60% in WPC-RV and WPC+LF-RV groups (P < 0.05), whereas the area under the curve (AUC) of severity along time diminished from ∼10 AUC in the RV group to ∼6 AUC in both supplemented groups (P < 0.05). Serum levels of anti-RV antibodies, splenocyte proliferation, and interferon-γ secretion after specific stimulation were significantly lower in the WPC-RV and WPC+LF-RV groups than in the SIF-RV and RV groups. In the intraepithelial intestinal compartment, RV infection increased the proportion of typical mucosal T cells (IE-T CD8 αα+); however, this modification was controlled by WPC and WPC+LF supplementation. In general, for most of the parameters studied, the SIF-RV and RV groups did not differ. In summary, daily supplementation with WPC or WPC+LF in early life considerably reduces the severity of RV-induced acute gastroenteritis and modulates the immune response against the pathogen.

Abbreviations

AUC
area under the curve
BSA
bovine serum albumin
DPI
day postinoculation
IE
intraepithelial
IEL
intraepithelial lymphocytes
IFN γ
interferon-γ
LF
lactoferrin
FBS
fetal bovine serum
mAb
monoclonal antibody
LSD
least significant difference
NK
natural killer
RV
rotavirus
SIF
standard infant formula
SIF-RV group
rats fed standard infant formula and inoculated with rotavirus
WPC
whey protein concentrate
WPC-RV group
rats fed whey protein concentrate and inoculated with rotavirus
WPC+LF-RV group
rats fed whey protein concentrate and lactoferrin and inoculated with rotavirus

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1

Supported in part by the Generalitat de Catalunya (SGCR-2005-00833) and Laboratorios Ordesa, S.L. (FBG 302206). The last 2 authors acknowledge partial funding for this research from CIBER Epidemiología y Salud Pública, Spain. S. M. G. was a holder of a fellowship from The University of Barcelona.

2

Author disclosures: F. Pérez-Cano, S. Marín-Gallén, M. Castell, M. Rodríguez-Palmero, M. Rivero, C. Castellote, and A. Franch, no conflicts of interest.