Embryonic thermal manipulation and dietary fat source during acute heat stress: 1. effect on hatchability and broiler performance

AbstractHeat stress affects the performance of poultry species and also induces immunosuppression. Chickens can be treated by thermal conditioning to have better heat stress tolerance. Our purpose was to determine the effect of acute heat stress on the immune response, i.e. antibody production against Newcastle disease virus (NDV) and change in the proportion of leukocyte components, in chicks subjected to prenatal heat conditioning. Eighty as-hatched broiler chicks from the same parent stock were used: control (40 chicks incubated at 36.7 °C from days 18–20 of embryonic life) and thermally manipulated (TM) (40 chicks incubated at 38.4 °C from day 18–20 of embryonic life; 4 h/day). The chickens were exposed to heat stress: at day 19 (31 °C/8 h) and at day 35 (32 °C/10 h). The first heat stress (day 19) decreased the lymphocyte counts and significantly increased the heterophil counts (P < 0.05) in both treatments (from 34.25 to 55% in the controls and from 37 to 60.06% in the TM chicks). The second heat stress (day 35) did not alter the heterophil and lymphocyte profiles of the chickens. Before the heat stress, all of the chickens (control and TM) presented the same positive antibody titres to NDV vaccination. After the first heat stress, 50% of the control samples and 40% of samples from the TM chickens were negative. After the second heat stress, 80% of the TM samples were negative.

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Effects of pre-hatch thermal manipulation and post-hatch acute heat stress on the mRNA expression of interleukin-6 and genes involved in its induction pathways in 2 broiler chicken breeds

Poultry Science ◽

10.3382/ps/pey499 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 98 (4) ◽

pp. 1805-1819 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Mohammad Borhan Al-Zghoul ◽

Khaled Musa Saleh ◽

Mustafa Mohammad Kheer Ababneh

Keyword(s):

Heat Stress ◽

Mrna Expression ◽

Interleukin 6 ◽

Broiler Chicken ◽

Acute Heat Stress ◽

Chicken Breeds ◽

Thermal Manipulation

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Effects of thermal manipulation during embryogenesis and post‐hatch acute heat stress on the mRNA expression dynamics of cytokines in broiler chickens

The FASEB Journal ◽

10.1096/fasebj.2019.33.1_supplement.621.1 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 33 (S1) ◽

Author(s):

Moh'd Borhan Al‐Zghoul

Keyword(s):

Heat Stress ◽

Mrna Expression ◽

Broiler Chickens ◽

Acute Heat Stress ◽

Thermal Manipulation

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Effect of Acute Heat Stress on the mRNA Levels of Cytokines in Broiler Chickens Subjected to Embryonic Thermal Manipulation

Animals ◽

10.3390/ani9080499 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (8) ◽

pp. 499 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Khaled M. M. Saleh ◽

Mohammad B. Al-Zghoul

Keyword(s):

Heat Stress ◽

Mrna Expression ◽

Broiler Chickens ◽

Incubation Temperature ◽

Cytokine Expression ◽

Mrna Levels ◽

Acute Heat Stress ◽

Ifn Γ ◽

And Control ◽

Thermal Manipulation

Heat stress significantly impacts the immunity and cytokine expression of chickens. However, the effects of embryonic thermal manipulation (TM) on cytokine expression in broiler chickens (broilers) is unclear. The objective of the current study was to evaluate the effects of TM on the splenic mRNA expression dynamics of certain cytokines—namely, IFN-α, IFN-β, IFN-γ, IL-4, IL-8, IL-15, IL-16, IL-17, and IL-18—in broilers during subsequent exposure to acute heat stress (AHS). TM was performed by elevating the incubation temperature to 39 °C at 65% relative humidity (RH) for 18 h daily during embryonic days (ED) 10–18. On post-hatch day 28, AHS was carried out for 7 h at 40 °C. At 0 h and after 1, 3, 5, and 7 h of AHS, splenic tissues were collected from all study groups to evaluate mRNA expression by relative-quantitative real-time (RT)-PCR. Plasma was collected to measure IL-4, IL-8, and IFN-γ levels. At 0 h, TM significantly reduced the basal mRNA level of IFN-β and the plasma level of IFN-γ and IL-8. Moreover, AHS significantly decreased IFN-β in control chicks, decreased IL-4 in both TM and control chicks, and increased IFN-γ and IL-16 in TM chicks. IFN-α, IL-8, IL-15, IL-17, and IL-18 expression all significantly increased during AHS in both TM and control chicks, but expression dynamics were improved in TM chicks for all cytokines (except IL-17). AHS resulted in increased plasma IFN-γ levels in TM chicks only, and increased IL-8 levels at 3 and 5 h of AHS in TM chicks, but at 7 h in control chicks. Lastly, 3 h of AHS increased IL-4 plasma levels in control chicks. The results of this study may indicate that TM has a long-term effect on cytokine expression dynamics of broilers, especially during AHS. Therefore, TM may improve heat tolerance acquisition by increasing the expression of signaling proteins important to tissue stability and to repair mechanisms that are employed during and/or after heat stress recovery.

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