Improvement in the Immunity- and Vitamin D3-Activity-Related Gene Expression of Coccidiosis-Challenged Ross 708 Broilers in Response to the In Ovo Injection of 25-Hydroxyvitamin D3 

Abstract

Effects of the in ovo administration of two vitamin D3 sources (vitamin D3 (D3) and 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 (25OHD3)) on the expression of D3 activity- and immunity-related genes in broilers subjected to a coccidiosis infection were investigated. At 18 d of incubation (doi), five in ovo injection treatments were administrated to live embryonated Ross 708 broiler hatching eggs: non-injected (1) and diluent-injected (2) controls, or diluent injection containing 2.4 μg of D3 (3) or 2.4 μg of 25OHD3 (4), or their combination (5). Birds in the in ovo-injected treatments were challenged at 14 d of age (doa) with a 20× dosage of a live coccidial vaccine. At 14 and 28 doa, the expression of eight immunity-related genes (IL-2, IL-6, IL-10, TLR-4, TLR-15, MyD88, TGF-β4, and IFN-γ) and four D3 activity-related genes (1α-hydroxylase, 25-hydroxylase, 24-hydroxylase, and VDR) in the jejunum of one bird in each treatment–replicate group were evaluated. No significant treatment effects were observed for any of the genes before challenge. However, at 2 weeks post-challenge, the expression of 1α-hydroxylase, TGF-β4, and IL-10 increased in birds that received 25OHD3 alone in comparison to all the other in ovo-injected treatment groups. Additionally, the expression of 24-hydroxylase and IL-6 decreased in birds that received 25OHD3 in comparison to those injected with diluent or D3 alone. It was concluded that the in ovo injection of 2.4 μg of 25OHD3 may improve the intestinal immunity as well as the activity of D3 in Ross 708 broilers subjected to a coccidiosis challenge.

Variable Effects of the In Ovo Administration of an Escherichia coli Vaccine in the Amnion or Air Cell on Commercial Layer Embryo and Hatchling Development

“…The possible reason for the differential susceptibilities of male and female embryos to pathogenic agents such as FMG or PECV could be linked to differences in their systematic inflammation or humoral immunity responses to different pathogens. Higher nitric oxide levels have been shown to be linked to decreased growth and immune responses [26,[40][41][42][43]. Mousstaaid et al [44] reported that plasma nitric oxide concentrations were higher in male than female broilers at hatch and at 14 days of age.…”

“…Primers and probes were designed for differentiation of PECV (Table 3). The forward and reverse primers were designed according to the procedure described by Fatemi [26]. Real Time PCR assays were performed using a QuantStudio TM 6 Flex Fast 96-Well Real Time PCR System (Applied Biosystems, Foster City, CA, USA).…”

Effects of the In Ovo and Dietary Supplementation of L-Ascorbic Acid on the Growth Performance, Inflammatory Response, and Eye L-Ascorbic Acid Concentrations in Ross 708 Broiler Chickens

“…The CD4 cells are linked to T-helper and regulatory T cells [ 42 ]. The mechanism of action of these cells is to inhibit T cell proliferation and cytokine production in order to suppress the immune response, thereby maintaining immune homeostasis [ 43 , 44 ]. In addition to immunity, regardless of the level of inclusion, dietary L-AA has also been shown to improve small intestine morphology [ 45 , 46 ].…”

Effects of the in ovo injection of an Escherichia coli vaccine on the hatchability and quality characteristics of commercial layer hatchlings

“…Global effects and least squares means differences were considered significant at P ≤ 0.05. All data were analyzed using the MIXED procedure of SAS software 9.4 ( SAS Institute, 2013 ; Fatemi et al, 2022 ). Treatment means and LS means comparisons for variables that were not significantly affected by treatment are not described or discussed.…”