An analysis of the intestinal immune response of pigs divergent in feed efficiency following an ex-vivo lipopolysaccharide challenge

This data is additional data that is not appropriate to publish in the main manuscript which is described below. While feed efficiency is influenced by multiple physiological processes, it is not known how efficient and inefficient pigs differ in relation to their basal immune response, and particularly their innate immune response to a microbial challenge. Hence, the objective was to examine the expression of genes relating to the innate immune response in basal colonic tissue and colonic tissue following an ex-vivo lipopolysaccharide (LPS) challenge from pigs divergent in residual feed intake (RFI). Pigs that differed in RFI were selected from two different farms of origin. Colonic tissue was harvested, and two experimental conditions were explored: the first was basal unchallenged tissue and the second was colonic tissue following an ex-vivo LPS challenge. RNA was extracted and tested on a Nanostring panel of 72 genes coding for barrier defence proteins, transmembrane receptors, kinases, transcription regulators, cytokines and cytokine regulators. In the basal unchallenged tissue, the LRFI pigs had increased expression of AOAH, AP1, TRAM and the cytokines TNF, IL10 and CXCL8, compared to the HRFI pigs (P<0.05), with a significant effect of farm of origin on 31 genes (P<0.05). In the LPS challenged tissues, the LRFI group had higher expression of TLR1, TLR7, TLR8, GPR43/FFAR2, JAK2 and NFAM1 compared to the HRFI group (P