Upregulation of SERT and ADORA1 in broilers with acute right ventricular failure

Abstract

Pulmonary hypertension (PH), remains a challenging disease with a large impact on both humans and meat-type chickens. PH is characterized by the onset of idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension leading to right ventricular failure. In this experiment relative gene expression of adenosine A1 receptor (ADORA1), serotonin transporter (SERT), phosphodiesterase 5A (PDE5) and troponin T2 were compared in hearts from broilers with acute right ventricular failure and from healthy birds. There were major increases in adenosine A1 receptor (177%) and serotonin transporter (475%), and more modest but significant increases in PDE5 (146%) and troponin T2 (140%) gene expressions in broilers with right ventricular failure compared to healthy birds (P<0.01). This novel report shows that pulmonary hypertension related gene expression in broilers is similar to that in humans. This molecular similarity between PH in broilers and human patients suggests, first, that they will make a suitable animal model for study PH in humans, but also that the literature on PH in humans may be profitably applied to the study of PH in broilers.