Deficits in Growth, Muscle Mass, and Body Composition Following Placental Insufficiency-induced Intrauterine Growth Restriction Persisted in Lambs at 60 d of Age but Were Improved by Daily Clenbuterol Supplementation

Authors

Rachel L. Gibbs, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Rebecca M. Swanson, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Joslyn K. Beard, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Ty B. Schmidt, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Jessica Lynn Petersen, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Dustin T. Yates, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow

ORCID IDs

Petersen 0000-0001-5438-8555

Document Type

Article

Date of this Version

2020

Citation

Translational Animal Science (2020) 4 (Supplement): S53–S57

doi: 10.1093/tas/txaa097

Comments

Copyright 2020, the authors. Open access

License: CC BY

Abstract

Low birthweight in livestock results from stress-induced intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR; Yates et al., 2018). IUGR fetuses exhibit diminished muscle growth that persists in the neonatal stage, leading to asymmetric body composition and decreased weight gain (Cadaret et al., 2019). Ultimately, low birthweight diminishes yield and carcass merit at harvest (Greenwood et al., 2000), making effective postnatal treatment strategies to improve IUGR growth outcomes necessary. In this study, we examined the benefits of injecting the β2 agonist clenbuterol daily to target adrenergic adaptations that we previously observed in IUGR muscle (Posont et al., 2018; Yates et al., 2018). We hypothesized that IUGRinduced growth deficits would persist at the juvenile stage, manifesting in inferior body composition and carcass traits. We also postulated that clenbuterol would at least partially recover growth and body symmetry. Our objective was to test this hypothesis by assessing growth metrics and body composition in IUGR-born lambs hand-reared to 60 d of age and supplemented daily with injectable clenbuterol.