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Journal of Animal Science and Technology
Korean Society of Animal Science and Technology

J Anim Sci Technol

pISSN: 2672-0191, eISSN: 2055-0391

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5187/jast.2600279

Research Article

Dietary Lactiplantibacillus plantarum modulated immune responses and intestinal barrier-related gene expression of weaned pigs

Kyeong Il Park1, Jinmu Ahn1, Hansol Hwang1, Yujeong Oh2, Sanwoo Park2, Younghoon Kim3, Jin Ho Cho4, Hyeun Bum Kim5, Yanhong Liu6, Hyunjin Kyoung1,6,*, Minho Song1,**
1Department of Animal Science and Biotechnology, Chungnam National University, Daejeon , Korea.
2Division of Animal Bioscience and Integrated Biotechnology, Gyeongsang National University, Jinju , Korea.
3Department of Agricultural Biotechnology and Research Institute of Agriculture and Life Science, Seoul National University, Seoul , Korea.
4Department of Animal science, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju , Korea.
5Department of Animal Biotechnology, Dankook University, Cheonan , Korea.
6Department of Animal Science, University of California, Davis, California , United States.
*Corresponding Author: Hyunjin Kyoung, Department of Animal Science and Biotechnology, Chungnam National University, Daejeon, Korea, Republic of. E-mail: hjkyoung@cnu.ac.kr.
**Corresponding Author: Minho Song, Department of Animal Science and Biotechnology, Chungnam National University, Daejeon, Korea, Republic of. E-mail: mhsong@cnu.ac.kr.

© Copyright 2026 Korean Society of Animal Science and Technology. This is an Open-Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Received: Jul 31, 2026; Revised: Sep 22, 2026; Accepted: Sep 27, 2026

Published Online: Sep 29, 2026

Abstract

This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of probiotic Lactiplantibacillus plantarum (L. plantarum) on growth performance, blood profiles, serum immune responses, serum biochemical parameters, intestinal morphology, and ileal gene expression of weaned pigs. A total of 90 weaned pigs (initial body weight: 7.91 ± 0.83 kg) were assigned to two dietary treatments (5 pigs/pen; 9 replicates/treatment). The two dietary treatments consisted of a commercial corn and soybean meal-based nursery diet (CON) and the same diet supplemented with 0.02% of dietary probiotic L. plantarum (PLA). Pigs fed PLA tended to have higher average daily gain (ADG; p = 0.066), while G:F was higher (p < 0.05) during days 1 to 7. The PLA group tended to have lower (p = 0.078) diarrhea frequency during days 1 to 14. Pigs fed PLA tended to have lower (p = 0.071) HCT levels on day 7 and higher (p < 0.05) HCT levels on day 28. Serum IL-10 concentrations tended to be higher (p = 0.054) in the PLA group. Dietary PLA decreased crypt depth (p < 0.05) and increased villus height to crypt depth ratio (VH:CD; p < 0.05) in the duodenum. Also, the ileal VH:CD ratio tended to be greater (p = 0.093) with PLA supplementation. Goblet cell counts tended to be greater in the duodenum (p = 0.086) and were greater in the jejunum (p < 0.05) in pigs fed PLA. On day 28, dietary PLA upregulated (p < 0.05) the mRNA expression of CLDN3 and OCLN genes, while downregulating (p < 0.05) TNFA, TGFB, IFNA, IL1A, IL1B, IL6, and IL8 in the ileal mucosa. The present study suggested that dietary supplementation with L. plantarum may support intestinal health of weaned pigs, as indicated by improved intestinal morphology and altered expression of tight junction-related genes. In addition, probiotic L. plantarum may have modulated systemic immune response and intestinal expression of inflammatory cytokine genes.

Keywords: Growth performance; Intestinal health; Immune responses; Lactiplantibacillus plantarum; Tight junction; Weaned pigs