The Relevance of Cytokines for Mucosal Immunity Induced By Dietary Vanadium in the Intestine of Broilers

Abstract

Cytokines are key regulators of the immune system that shapes both the innate and adaptive immune responses. Present knowledge allows a deeper understanding of the cytokine network and their complex roles in the development of immune responses. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of dietary vanadium on the contents of cytokines such as interleukin-2 (IL-2), interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-10 (IL-10), interferon gamma (IFN-γ) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) in the mucosa of different parts of intestines (duodenum, jejunum and ileum) by Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA). A total of 420 one-day-old avian broilers were divided into six groups and fed on a corn-soybean basal diet (control diet) or the same basal diet supplemented with 5 mg/kg, 15 mg/ kg, 30 mg/kg, 45 mg/kg and 60 mg/kg vanadium in the form of ammonium metavanadate, respectively. During the experimental period of 42 days, the results showed that the IL-2, IL-10, IFN-γ and TNF-α contents were significantly lower (p<0.05 or p<0.01) in the 30 mg/kg, 45 mg/kg and 60 mg/kg groups than those in the control group, and the IL-6 contents were significantly decreased (p<0.05 or p<0.01) mainly in the 45 mg/kg and 60 mg/kg groups in comparison with those of the control group. It was concluded that dietary vanadium in excess of 30 mg/kg significantly reduced the contents of above cytokines in the intestinal mucosa of broilers, which could impact the function of intestinal mucosal immunity by affecting the pathways that reduced the lymphocyte population and / or lymphocyte activation.

Effect of Vanadium on TLR4 and TLR7 mRNA Expression in the Lymphoid Organs of Broilers

“…The immunotoxicity of vanadate has been proved [13]. At the same time, the results of our recent studies have shown that high levels of dietary vanadium can cause the lesions in lymphoid organs, inhibit the growth of lymphoid organs, splenic oxidative stress and splenocyte apoptosis, and affect the secretion of immunologic factors and cytokine contents in the mucosal immunity of broilers [14][15][16][17][18].…”