Early life adversity (ELA), such as abuse, neglect and household dysfunction are known risk factors for increased disease risk and the development of immune disorders, such as Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) later in life in human. Early life stress also impacts agricultural species, like swine, and has been shown to lead to increased susceptibility to disease and to the development of acute and chronic immunologic and enteric disease later in life. In response to ELA, piglets exhibit similar pathophysiology's (leaky gut, enteric and immune system dysfunction, diarrhea) as humans. While there is a long-term impact of ELA in both human and animals, the mechanism is unknown. Mast cells (MCs) are critical innate immune cells which orchestrate the pathogenesis of many immunological disorders and are highly activated in response to psychological stress, supports their role as key modulators of stress-induced disease. Previous studies from our lab has shown that MCs can trigger intestinal permeability and inflammation. The goal of this thesis was to determine the time course of intestinal MC activation in response to stress and whether age of piglets at the time of weaning influences MC activity. Our work provides insight into understanding the early mechanism that could be initiating changes in gut development in response to weaning-induced stress. This works also suggest that preventative measures and strategies in swine production may in fact need to be administered early before the weaning process.
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