Relationship between Mucosal Barrier Function of the Oviduct and Intestine in the Productivity of Laying Hens

Abstract

The mucosa of the intestine and oviduct of hens are susceptible to pathogens. Pathogenic infections in the mucosal tissues of laying hens lead to worsened health of the host animal, decreased egg production, and bacterial contamination of eggs. Therefore, better understanding of the mechanisms underlying mucosal barrier function is needed to prevent infection by pathogens. In addition, pathogen infection in the mucosal tissue generally causes mucosal inflammation. Recently, it has been shown that inflammation in the oviduct and intestinal tissue caused by disruption of the mucosal barrier function, can affect egg production. Therefore, it is vitla to understand the relationship between mucosal barrier function and egg production to improve poultry egg production. This paper reviews the studies on (1) oviductal mucosal immune function and egg production,(2) intestinal inflammation and egg production, and (3) improvement of mucosal immune function by probiotics. The findings introduced in this review will contribute to the understanding of the mucosal barrier function of the intestine and oviduct and improve poultry egg production in laying hens.

Dietary Chinese herbal mixture supplementation improves production performance by regulating reproductive hormones, antioxidant capacity, immunity, and intestinal health of broiler breeders

“…The laying rate is mainly associated with oviduct and intestine health ( Nii, 2022 ). Previous studies supported that oviduct aging (oxidative stress) and infection not only reduce the laying rate but also influence eggs formation and result in the contamination of eggs ( Raspoet et al, 2011 ; Wang et al, 2015 ).…”

Black soldier fly larvae oil (Hermetia illucens L.) calcium salt enhances intestinal morphology and barrier function in laying hens

“…The results correlate with Chen et al (2022) , that study on intestinal morphology and barrier function in broiler chickens. Intestinal performance, feed nutrient absorption function, and productivity in laying hens are enhanced by villus growth and barrier function ( Nii, 2022 ; Lu et al, 2023 ). The diet enriched with BSFLO-SCa has a significant amount of lauric acid, as shown in Table 3 .…”

NLRC5 expression profile in the oviduct of laying hens and its changes following estradiol treatment in induced molting hens

“…In chickens, molting is induced by feed-regulation and various stress, and the oviduct regresses in association with the decline of circulating estrogen level (Nii, 2022). The regressed oviduct may be more susceptible to infection with pathogenic microorganisms, and Salmonella-contaminated eggs are more frequently observed in post-molting hens (Golden et al, 2008).…”