Fig. 5

Effects of maternal cysteamine supplementation on the vascular density of placentae. A, B The hematoxylin and eosin method was used to examine blood vessel density in placental tissues, and the black arrows indicate placental blood vessels (bar = 100 μm). C, D CD31 immunofluorescence staining in placentae (bar = 50 μm). E mRNA relative expression of vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGF-A). CON, basal diet group; CS100/300/500, basal diet supplemented with 100, 300, or 500 mg/kg of cysteamine (CS). LBW and NBW indicate piglets with a low birth weight (LBW) (less than 1.0 kg) and normal birth weight (NBW) (1.4–1.6 kg), respectively. Data are presented as mean ± SEM (n = 6). Linear (L) and quadratic (Q) effects of inclusion amounts of CS were contrasted. Different lowercase letters represent significant difference at P < 0.05