{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,4]],"date-time":"2026-09-04T13:13:48Z","timestamp":1788527628378,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":33,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"17","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,4]],"date-time":"2026-09-04T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1788480000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001809","name":"National Natural Science Foundation of China","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["U22A20515"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["U22A20515"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001809","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001809","name":"National Natural Science Foundation of China","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["U25A20706"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["U25A20706"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001809","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"award":["U22A20515"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["U22A20515"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/01h0zpd94","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"award":["U25A20706"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["U25A20706"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/01h0zpd94","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Animals"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Excessive body fat deposition during pregnancy is believed to have an adverse effect on the reproductive performance of sows. Feed intake regulation (REG) is an effective method to modulate energy intake and fat deposition. This study aimed to explore the impact of feed intake and body fat deposition on reproductive performance. A total of 24 Shaziling sows (parity 3\u20136) were divided into two groups based on their BF on day 30 of gestation, and subsequently randomly assigned to control (CON) and REG groups: (1) BF between 12 and 16 mm (LB-CON, n = 6), (2) BF between 12 and 16 mm (LB-IF, n = 6), (3) BF between 18 and 22 mm (HB-CON, n = 6), and (4) BF between 18 and 22 mm (HB-RF, n = 6). Sows in the LB-CON and HB-CON groups were fed a basic diet at a dosage of 1.88 kg\/d. The LB-IF and HB-RF groups received REG and were fed a basic diet at dosages of 2.07 kg\/d and 1.69 kg\/d, respectively. Higher total litter weight and live litter weight were observed in HB-RF sows (p &lt; 0.05). In addition, HB-CON sows displayed higher serum levels of IL-6, TG, and GLU when compared with LB-CON sows (p &lt; 0.05), whereas HB-RF sows exhibited lower levels of these markers than HB-CON sows (p &lt; 0.05). The lipid droplet area fraction was higher in HB-CON sows than in LB-CON sows (p &lt; 0.05), and this fraction was reduced in HB-RF sows compared with HB-CON sows (p &lt; 0.05). The placental level of TC increased in HB-CON sows when compared with LB-CON sows (p &lt; 0.05). The placental levels of T-AOC and GPX increased in HB-RF sows when compared with HB-CON sows (p &lt; 0.05). Moreover, the mRNA expression of FABP3 was higher in HB-CON sows when compared with LB-CON sows (p &lt; 0.05). The mRNA expression of GLUT3 and PlGF increased in HB-RF sows when compared with HB-CON sows (p &lt; 0.05). In addition, HB-RF sows exhibited increased Shannon, Simpson, and ACE indices when compared with HB-CON sows (p &lt; 0.05). The characterization of the fecal microbiota revealed that HB-RF sows displayed a lower ratio of Firmicutes\/Bacteroidota and an increased relative abundance of Limosilactobacillus when compared with HB-CON sows (p &lt; 0.05). Collectively, these observations suggested that reduced feed intake in Shaziling sows with high backfat thickness improved reproductive indices, alleviated placental oxidative stress and inflammatory status, elevated placental nutrient transport and angiogenesis-related gene expression, and reshaped fecal microbiota. These results provide valuable reference for pig production.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ani16172785","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,4]],"date-time":"2026-09-04T12:20:46Z","timestamp":1788524446000},"page":"2785","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Impact of Feed Intake and Body Fat Deposition on Reproductive Performance and Placental Function of Shaziling Sows: A Pilot Study"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"16","author":[{"given":"Luyao","family":"Gao","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Animal Science and Technology, Hunan Agriculture University, Changsha 410128, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"writing-original-draft","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-review-editing","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"visualization","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"software","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"validation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"methodology","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"conceptualization","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"formal-analysis","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"resources","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"investigation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"data-curation","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"given":"Huadi","family":"Mei","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Animal Science and Technology, Hunan Agriculture University, Changsha 410128, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"methodology","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"formal-analysis","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"data-curation","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"given":"Fuxuan","family":"Xiong","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Animal Science and Technology, Hunan Agriculture University, Changsha 410128, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"software","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"investigation","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"given":"Liang","family":"Chen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition, Institute of Animal Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"conceptualization","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"supervision","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"given":"Yulian","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Animal Breeding Station of Xiangtan, Xiangtan 411104, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"resources","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"investigation","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"given":"Hong","family":"Tan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Animal Breeding Station of Xiangtan, Xiangtan 411104, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"resources","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"investigation","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3532-1165","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Shusong","family":"Wu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Animal Science and Technology, Hunan Agriculture University, Changsha 410128, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"writing-review-editing","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"supervision","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"conceptualization","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9289-4405","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jianhua","family":"He","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Animal Science and Technology, Hunan Agriculture University, Changsha 410128, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"writing-review-editing","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"project-administration","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"funding-acquisition","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"conceptualization","vocabulary":"credit"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,4]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"125","DOI":"10.1016\/j.aninu.2021.06.011","article-title":"Comparisons of carcass traits, meat quality, and serum metabolome between Shaziling and Yorkshire pigs","volume":"8","author":"Song","year":"2022","journal-title":"Anim. Nutr."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3058","DOI":"10.2527\/2004.82103058x","article-title":"Comparison of three methods of feeding sows in gestation and the subsequent effects on lactation performance","volume":"82","author":"Young","year":"2004","journal-title":"J. Anim. Sci."},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Hu, J., and Yan, P. (2022). Effects of Backfat Thickness on Oxidative Stress and Inflammation of Placenta in Large White Pigs. Vet. Sci., 9.","DOI":"10.3390\/vetsci9060302"},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"250","DOI":"10.1093\/jas\/skx041","article-title":"Excessive backfat of sows at 109 d of gestation induces lipotoxic placental environment and is associated with declining reproductive performance","volume":"96","author":"Zhou","year":"2018","journal-title":"J. Anim. Sci."},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Zhou, Y., Xu, T., Wu, Y., Wei, H., and Peng, J. (2019). Oxidative Stress and Inflammation in Sows with Excess Backfat: Up-Regulated Cytokine Expression and Elevated Oxidative Stress Biomarkers in Placenta. Animals, 9.","DOI":"10.3390\/ani9100796"},{"key":"ref_6","unstructured":"Lu, Y. (2023). Screening of Candidate Gut Microbe and Metablites of Backfat in Pregnant Sows. [Master\u2019s Thesis, Guangxi University]."},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"126","DOI":"10.1161\/CIRCULATIONAHA.111.087213","article-title":"Energy Balance and Obesity","volume":"126","author":"Hill","year":"2012","journal-title":"Circulation"},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"143","DOI":"10.1186\/s13568-023-01646-4","article-title":"Konjac flour-mediated gut microbiota alleviates insulin resistance and improves placental angiogenesis of obese sows","volume":"13","author":"Wu","year":"2023","journal-title":"AMB Express"},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"171","DOI":"10.1016\/j.placenta.2014.01.003","article-title":"Maternal obesity is associated with a lipotoxic placental environment","volume":"35","author":"Saben","year":"2014","journal-title":"Placenta"},{"key":"ref_10","first-page":"1","article-title":"Relationship between backfat thickness of sows during late gestation and reproductive efficiency at different parities","volume":"65","author":"Kim","year":"2015","journal-title":"Acta Agric. Scand. Sect. A Anim. Sci."},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Cheng, C., Wu, X., Zhang, X., Zhang, X., and Peng, J. (2019). Obesity of Sows at Late Pregnancy Aggravates Metabolic Disorder of Perinatal Sows and Affects Performance and Intestinal Health of Piglets. Animals, 10.","DOI":"10.3390\/ani10010049"},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"368","DOI":"10.1016\/j.aninu.2025.08.009","article-title":"Effect of fat deposition on placental function in Shaziling sows and modulation by resveratrol","volume":"24","author":"Yang","year":"2026","journal-title":"Anim. Nutr."},{"key":"ref_13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Huang, X., Gao, J., Zhao, Y., He, M., Ke, S., Wu, J., Zhou, Y., Fu, H., Yang, H., and Chen, C. (2019). Dramatic remodeling of the gut microbiome around parturition and its relationship with host serum metabolic changes in sows. Front. Microbiol., 10.","DOI":"10.3389\/fmicb.2019.02123"},{"key":"ref_14","unstructured":"(2021). Nutrient Requirements of Swine (Standard No. GB\/T 39235-2020)."},{"key":"ref_15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Yang, X., He, Z., Hu, R., Yan, J., Zhang, Q., Li, B., Yuan, X., Zhang, H., He, J., and Wu, S. (2021). Dietary \u03b2-carotene on postpartum uterine recovery in mice: Crosstalk between gut microbiota and inflammation. Front. Immunol., 12.","DOI":"10.3389\/fimmu.2021.744425"},{"key":"ref_16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"26","DOI":"10.1186\/2049-1891-4-26","article-title":"Improving efficiency of sow productivity: Nutrition and health","volume":"4","author":"Kim","year":"2013","journal-title":"J. Anim. Sci. Biotechnol."},{"key":"ref_17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Yang, X., Hu, R., Shi, M., Wang, L., Yan, J., Gong, J., Zhang, Q., He, J., and Wu, S. (2023). Placental Malfunction, Fetal Survival and Development Caused by Sow Metabolic Disorder: The Impact of Maternal Oxidative Stress. Antioxidants, 12.","DOI":"10.3390\/antiox12020360"},{"key":"ref_18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"882","DOI":"10.1189\/jlb.0108028","article-title":"Adipose-immune interactions during obesity and caloric restriction: Reciprocal mechanisms regulating immunity and health span","volume":"84","author":"Dixit","year":"2008","journal-title":"J. Leukoc. Biol."},{"key":"ref_19","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"41","DOI":"10.1016\/j.exger.2008.04.005","article-title":"Neuroendocrine factors in the regulation of inflammation: Excessive adiposity and calorie restriction","volume":"44","author":"Fontana","year":"2009","journal-title":"Exp. Gerontol."},{"key":"ref_20","unstructured":"Fang, L. (2019). The Impact of Bama Pig Weight Gain and Loss on Blood Physiological and Biochemic-Al Indicators as Well as Inflammatory Geneexpression. [Master\u2019s Thesis, Sichuan Agricultural University]."},{"key":"ref_21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"16153","DOI":"10.3390\/ijms150916153","article-title":"Maternal-fetal nutrient transport in pregnancy pathologies: The role of the placenta","volume":"15","author":"Brett","year":"2014","journal-title":"Int. J. Mol. Sci."},{"key":"ref_22","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1812","DOI":"10.1038\/s41366-018-0113-2","article-title":"Maternal obesity aggravates the abnormality of porcine placenta by increasing N(6)-methyladenosine","volume":"42","author":"Song","year":"2018","journal-title":"Int. J. Obes."},{"key":"ref_23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"556","DOI":"10.1016\/j.tcb.2010.06.006","article-title":"Signaling by members of the TGF-beta family in vascular morphogenesis and disease","volume":"20","author":"Pardali","year":"2010","journal-title":"Trends Cell Biol."},{"key":"ref_24","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"105","DOI":"10.1007\/s10456-019-09694-w","article-title":"Reconciling the distinct roles of angiogenic\/anti-angiogenic factors in the placenta and maternal circulation of normal and pathological pregnancies","volume":"23","author":"Umapathy","year":"2020","journal-title":"Angiogenesis"},{"key":"ref_25","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2415","DOI":"10.1093\/advances\/nmab070","article-title":"Placental Angiogenesis in Mammals: A Review of the Regulatory Effects of Signaling Pathways and Functional Nutrients","volume":"12","author":"Huang","year":"2021","journal-title":"Adv. Nutr."},{"key":"ref_26","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"611","DOI":"10.1038\/nrm.2016.87","article-title":"Mechanisms and regulation of endothelial VEGF receptor signalling","volume":"17","author":"Simons","year":"2016","journal-title":"Nat. Rev. Mol. Cell Biol."},{"key":"ref_27","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"470","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cell.2012.07.008","article-title":"Host remodeling of the gut microbiome and metabolic changes during pregnancy","volume":"150","author":"Koren","year":"2012","journal-title":"Cell"},{"key":"ref_28","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Liufu, S., Xu, X., Lan, Q., Chen, B., Wang, K., Xiao, L., Chen, W., Wen, W., Liu, C., and Yi, L. (2025). Temporal Dynamics of Fecal Microbiome and Short-Chain Fatty Acids in Sows from Early Pregnancy to Weaning. Animals, 15.","DOI":"10.3390\/ani15152209"},{"key":"ref_29","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"418","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jff.2015.03.055","article-title":"Lactobacillus casei and its byproducts alter the virulence factors of foodborne bacterial pathogens","volume":"15","author":"Peng","year":"2015","journal-title":"J. Funct. Foods"},{"key":"ref_30","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Vlasova, A.N., Chattha, K.S., Kandasamy, S., Liu, Z., Esseili, M., Shao, L., Rajashekara, G., and Saif, L.J. (2013). Lactobacilli and bifidobacteria promote immune homeostasis by modulating innate immune responses to human rotavirus in neonatal gnotobiotic pigs. PLoS ONE, 8.","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0076962"},{"key":"ref_31","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"110782","DOI":"10.1016\/j.vetmic.2025.110782","article-title":"Efficacy evaluation of phage EP01 on SD rat endometritis induced by Escherichia coli GXEC-K5","volume":"311","author":"Wei","year":"2025","journal-title":"Vet. Microbiol."},{"key":"ref_32","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"4","DOI":"10.1007\/s00253-023-12852-2","article-title":"Parity changed fecal microbiota of sows and its correlation with milk long-chain fatty acid profiles","volume":"108","author":"Zhang","year":"2024","journal-title":"Appl. Microbiol. Biotechnol."},{"key":"ref_33","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"109219","DOI":"10.1016\/j.fbio.2026.109219","article-title":"Postbiotics Intervention Mitigates Stress-Induced Reproductive Dysfunction in Female Mice by Modulating Hormonal Regulation, Oxidative Balance, and Fertility Outcomes","volume":"82","author":"Kumari","year":"2026","journal-title":"Food Biosci."}],"container-title":["Animals"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2076-2615\/16\/17\/2785\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,4]],"date-time":"2026-09-04T12:22:15Z","timestamp":1788524535000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2076-2615\/16\/17\/2785"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,4]]},"references-count":33,"journal-issue":{"issue":"17","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9]]}},"alternative-id":["ani16172785"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/ani16172785","relation":{},"ISSN":["2076-2615"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2076-2615","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,4]]}}}