Abstract
The effects of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) exposure and sodium selenite supplementation on cell apoptosis of jejunum in broilers were studied. A total of 240 one-day-old male AA broilers were randomly assigned four dietary treatments containing 0 mg/kg of AFB1 (control), 0.3 mg/kg AFB1 (AFB1), 0.4 mg/kg supplement Se (+ Se) and 0.3 mg/kg AFB1 + 0.4 mg/kg supplement Se (AFB1 + Se), respectively. Compared with the control broilers, the number of apoptotic cells, the expression of Bax and Caspase-3 mRNA were significantly increased, while the expression of Bcl-2 mRNA and the Bcl-2/Bax ratio were significantly decreased in AFB1 broilers. The number of apoptotic cells and the expression of Caspase-3 mRNA in AFB1 + Se broilers were significantly higher than those in the control broilers, but significantly lower than those in AFB1 broilers. There were no significant changes in the expression of Bax mRNA between AFB1 + Se and control broilers; the expression of Bcl-2 mRNA and the Bcl-2/Bax ratio in AFB1 + Se broilers were significantly lower than those in the control broilers, but significantly higher than those in AFB1 broilers. In conclusion, 0.3 mg/kg AFB1 in the diet can increase cell apoptosis, decrease Bcl-2 mRNA expression, and increase of Bax and Caspase-3 mRNA expression in broiler’s jejunum. However, supplementation of dietary sodium selenite at the concentration of 0.4 mg/kg Se may ameliorate AFB1-induced apoptosis by increasing Bcl-2 mRNA expression, and decreasing Bax and Caspase-3 mRNA expression.
Highlights
Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) is a well-known mycotoxin produced by different strains of Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticum
At 21 days of age, the body weight in AFB1 broilers was significantly lower than that in control broilers (p < 0.05), but no significant differences occurred among control, +Se and AFB1+Se broilers (p > 0.05) (Table 2)
Our result shows that the number of TUNEL-positive cells was increased in AFB1 broilers when compared with control broilers
Summary
Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) is a well-known mycotoxin produced by different strains of Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticum. Previous research has shown that poultry are extremely sensitive to the toxic and carcinogenic action of AFB1, resulting in millions of dollars in annual losses to producers due to reduced growth rates, reduced egg production, increased susceptibility to disease, and other adverse effects [4,5,6,7,8,9]. Since poultry are extremely sensitive to the toxic and carcinogenic action of AFB1, studies on AFB1-related apoptosis in the jejunum in broilers are very important. Se may exhibit protective effects on AFB1-induced splenic toxicity by inhibiting oxidative stress and excessive apoptosis [16]. The effects of Se against AFB1-induced jejunal cell apoptosis have yet not been reported. Experiments were conducted to examine the effect of AFB1 exposure and sodium selenite supplementation on the cell apoptosis of broilers’ jejunum by TUNEL assay and quantitative real-time PCR
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