Effect of embryonic thermal manipulation on heat shock protein 70 expression and immune system development in Pekin duck embryos

Abstract

Two experiments were conducted to study the effects of thermal manipulation on heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) transcription and immune cell characteristics' in Pekin duck embryos. In experiments I and II, fertile duck eggs were incubated at either a standard (S; 37°C) or high (H; 38.0°C) temperature from embryonic day (ED) 1 to 10. At ED11, half the eggs incubated at 37.5°C or 38.0°C were either kept at 37.5°C (SS) or 38.0°C (HH) respectively, or moved to the opposite incubator/temperature of either 38.0°C (SH) or 37.5°C (HS). Beginning on ED 21, all eggs (embryos) were incubated at 37.5°C. In experiments I and II, the mean egg shell temperature (EST) of eggs incubated at 38.0°C was higher than that from 37.5°C at ED10 (P < 0.01). In both experiments, the yolk free wet embryo body weight (YFWEBW) of embryos from the HS treatment was increased while that in the HH treatments was decreased compared with the SS treatment at ED25 (P < 0.01). In experiment II, embryos from the HH treatment had increased HSP70 mRNA compared with the SS treatment in the liver, thymus, and bursa (P < 0.05). The thymus and bursa from embryos in the SH treatment had increased MHCI mRNA when compared with the SS treatment (P < 0.05). The thymus from HH and SH treatments had increased MHCII mRNA while the bursa from the HH and SH treatments had decreased MHCII mRNA when compared with the SS treatment (P < 0.05). The spleen and bursa from the HH treatment had increased IL-6, IFNγ, and IL-10 mRNA when compared with the SS treatment (P < 0.05). The thymus and spleen from embryos in the HH treatment had increased CD8+/CD4+ ratios and CD4+CD25+ cell percentages compared with the SS treatment (P < 0.05). In conclusion, embryos incubated at 0.5°C higher than the standard incubation temperature from ED1 to 21 had increased HSP70 mRNA, MHCI, and inflammatory cytokines, and the immune response was skewed toward cell-mediated immunity.

Effect of Acute Heat Stress on the mRNA Levels of Cytokines in Broiler Chickens Subjected to Embryonic Thermal Manipulation

“…IFN-γ has an important role in macrophage activation, along with some antiviral activity, and is mainly produced by Th1 cells [7,28]. In ducklings, TM led to a significant increase in IFN-γ expression during a post-hatch LPS challenge, suggesting that pre-hatch exposure to thermal stress had a beneficial effect on the immune response to inflammatory stimulus during post-hatch life [27]. On the other hand, the present results showed that IL-4 expression significantly decreased after 1 h of AHS in TM chicks and after 5 h in control chicks.…”

“…It has been postulated that TM improves broiler immune response during post-hatch life by reducing Salmonella enteritidis colonization as well as enhancing cell-mediated immune response during post-hatch exposure to chronic heat stress (CHS) [18,23,24]. In ducklings, TM during the middle stage of embryogenesis led to immunosuppression and reduced plasma IFN-γ levels [25], while TM during embryonic days (ED) 1 to 21 led to increased IL-6, IFN-γ, and IL-10 expression in Pekin duck embryos [26]. Furthermore, TM during ED 1 to 25 led to increased IL-10, IL-6, and IFN-γ expression in ducklings challenged with lipopolysaccharide (LPS), suggesting that TM may be an aid in the response to subsequent post-hatch inflammations [27].…”

“…In ducklings, TM during the middle stage of embryogenesis led to immunosuppression and reduced plasma IFN-γ levels [25], while TM during embryonic days (ED) 1 to 21 led to increased IL-6, IFN-γ, and IL-10 expression in Pekin duck embryos [26]. Furthermore, TM during ED 1 to 25 led to increased IL-10, IL-6, and IFN-γ expression in ducklings challenged with lipopolysaccharide (LPS), suggesting that TM may be an aid in the response to subsequent post-hatch inflammations [27].…”

Subclinical Doses of Combined Fumonisins and Deoxynivalenol Predispose Clostridium perfringens–Inoculated Broilers to Necrotic Enteritis

“…The melting profile was determined by heating samples at 65 °C for 30 s and then increasing the temperature at a linear rate of 10 °C/s to 95 °C while continuously monitoring fluorescence. Housekeeping genes of β-actin, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH), and ribosomal protein S13 (RPS13) were selected, and the stability was analyzed using Normfinder software (Department of Molecular Medicine, Aarhus University Hospital, Denmark) as described previously (Shanmugasundaram et al, 2018). The RPS13 gene was selected for data normalization because it was the most stable expression among the set of housekeeping genes analyzed for normalization.…”

Early Phenotype Programming in Birds by Temperature and Nutrition: A Mini-Review

“…Because of the interference between the thermoregulatory system and other body functions, TM has also been shown to alter a broader range of phenotypes. For instance, TM has been shown to affect growth in broiler chickens and quails (Loyau et al, 2013;Vitorino Carvalho et al, 2020), muscle development in broiler chickens (Collin et al, 2007;Piestun et al, 2009), skin vascularization in broiler chickens (Morita et al, 2016) and immunity in Pekin ducks (Shanmugasundaram et al, 2018). In Pekin ducks, TM positively impacted muscle fiber diameter and regulatory pathways of muscle development (Liu et al, 2015;Li et al, 2017).…”