Hermetia illucens Larvae Meal Enhances Colonic Antimicrobial Peptide Expression by Promoting Histone Acetylation in Weaned Piglets Challenged with ETEC in Pig Housing

The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of replacing fishmeal with <i>H. illucens</i> larval meal on the colonic immune homeostasis in weaned piglets in enterotoxigenic <i>Escherichia coli</i> (ETEC)-challenged pig housing. Seventy-two weaned piglets, aged 28 days, were randomly divided into three groups for dietary treatment: the basal diet (negative control, NC), the positive control diet (PC) supplemented with 1445 mg zinc/kg zinc oxide in the basal diet, and the <i>H. illucens</i> larval meal complete replacement of fishmeal in the basal diet (HILM), for 28 days in ETEC-challenged pig housing. The results showed that the relative transcript abundances of <i>ZO-1</i>, <i>pBD2</i>, <i>PR39</i>, and <i>PG1-5</i> were increased (<i>p</i> < 0.05) in pigs fed the HILM diet compared with those fed the NC diet. In addition, the HILM diet reduced (<i>p</i> < 0.05) the serum contents of IL-8 and increased (<i>p</i> < 0.05) the serum contents of IL-10 and IgG compared with the NC diet. In terms of the molecular mechanisms by which immune homeostasis is improved, the p-NF-κB/ NF-κB ratio and TLR2 protein expression in the colon were decreased (<i>p</i> < 0.05) in pigs fed the HILM diet compared with those fed the NC diet. Compared with the NC diet, the HILM diet reduced (<i>p</i> < 0.05) the protein expression of HDAC3 and HDAC7 in the colon of pigs. The SIRT1, acH3K9, and pH3S10 protein expressions in the colon were the greatest (<i>p</i> < 0.05) in pigs fed the HILM diet compared with the NC diet. HILM diets improved the colonic immune homeostasis in weaned piglets by enhancing the antimicrobial peptide expression, thereby mitigating ETEC challenges in pig housing. Mechanistically, HILM diets promote antimicrobial peptide expression through increased histone acetylation (acH3K9 and pH3S10).