Regulatory effects of dietary L-Arg supplementation on the innate immunity and antioxidant ability in broiler chickens
2016
Ya-di HU | Jian-zhuang TAN | Ji QI | Hong-fu ZHANG
Here, we investigated the effect of dietary arginine (Arg) supplementation on innate immunity and the antioxidant ability of broiler chickens. The experiment was designed as a single-factorial arrangement (n=8 cages/treatment, six birds/cage), and we used four dietary Arg concentrations (10.0, 15.0, 20.0 or 25.0 g kg−1). On day 21, the birds were killed to obtain spleen, cecal tonsil and liver samples to determine the gene expression and antioxidant characteristics. Increasing the Arg concentration linearly decreased (P<0.05) the mRNA expression of splenic interleukin-18 (IL-18) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α). Dietary Arg supplementation quadratically decreased (P<0.05) the expression of interleukin-1b (IL-1b) and interferon-γ (IFN-γ) mRNA in the spleen. Increasing Arg concentrations linearly and quadratically reduced the expression of IL-18 mRNA in the spleen. Meanwhile, increasing dietary Arg supplementation linearly and quadratically increased the lymphotactin mRNA (P<0.05) expression, and linearly increased the macrophage inflammatory protein-1β (MIP-1β) and toll-like receptor 15 (TLR15) mRNA expression in the cecal tonsils. Dietary Arg supplementation linearly (P<0.05) increased the glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), catalase (CAT), and lysozyme (LZM) activities in the liver. However, the malondialdehyde (MDA) activity in the liver was not influenced by the dietary Arg concentration (P>0.05). No significant (P>0.05) effect was found on the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) in the liver. Thus high levels of Arg supplementation (>20.0 g kg−1) may potentially suppress the innate immunity of broiler chickens, and dietary Arg supplementation enhances the antioxidant activity in broiler chickens.
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