Journal Article

Transcriptome profile in bursa of Fabricius reveals potential mode for stress-influenced immune function in chicken stress model

Han, Ruili, Sun, Guirong, Liu, Xiaojun, Li, Zhuanjian, Su, Aru, Jiang, Ruirui, Li, Kui, Zhang, Yanhua, Tian, Yadong, Li, Guoxi, Yan, Fengbin, Kang, Xiangtao, Zhou, Yanting

2018

Overview

Background The molecular mechanisms underlying stress-influenced immune function of chicken ( Gallus Gallus ) are not clear. The stress models can be established effectively by feeding chickens corticosterone (CORT) hormone. The bursa of Fabricius is a unique central immune organ of birds. RNA-Seq technology was used to investigate differences in the expression profiles of immune-related genes and associated pathways in the bursa of Fabricius to clarify molecular mechanisms. The aim of this study was to broaden the understanding of the stress-influenced immune function in chickens. Results Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the bursa of Fabricius between experimental group (basal diet with added CORT 30 mg/kg; C_B group) and control group (basal diet; B_B group) were identified by using RNA-seq technology. In total, we found 1434 significant DEGs (SDEGs), which included 199 upregulated and 1235 downregulated genes in the C_B group compared with the B_B group. The immune system process GO term was the top significantly GO term, including MYD88 , TLR4 , IL15 , VEGFA gene and so on. The cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction pathway and the Toll-like receptor signaling pathway were the key pathways affected by stress. The protein-protein interaction (PPI) analysis of the SDEGs showed that VEGFA , MyD88 and IL15 were hub genes and module analysis showed that MYD88 , TLR4 and VEGFA play important roles in response to stress. Conclusion This study showed that the VEGFA and ILs (such as IL15 ) via the cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction pathway, MYD88 and TLR4 via the Toll-like receptor signaling pathway may play important roles in the regulation of immune function under stress condition with CORT administration. The results of this study provide a reference for further studies of the molecular mechanisms of stress-influenced immune function.

• Publisher: BioMed Central,BioMed Central Ltd,Springer Nature B.V,BMC
• Subject: Analysis / Animal Genetics and Genomics / Animals / Apoptosis / Bioinformatics / Biomedical and Life Sciences / Bursa of Fabricius / Bursa of Fabricius - drug effects / Bursa of Fabricius - immunology / Bursa of Fabricius - metabolism / Chicken / Chickens / Chickens - genetics / Chickens - immunology / Cluster Analysis / Comparative and evolutionary genomics / Corticosterone / Corticosterone - pharmacology / Corticosterone hormone / Cytokines / Diet / Gene expression / Genes / Genomes / Genomics / Immune function / Immune response / Immune system / Immunity - drug effects / Immunity - genetics / Interleukin 1 / Interleukin 15 / Interleukin-15 - genetics / Interleukin-15 - metabolism / Leukocytes / Life Sciences / Lymphocytes / Medical research / Microarrays / Microbial Genetics and Genomics / Models, Animal / Molecular modelling / MyD88 protein / Plant Genetics and Genomics / Poultry / Protein interaction / Protein Interaction Maps - drug effects / Proteins / Proteomics / Research Article / Ribonucleic acid / RNA / RNA - chemistry / RNA - isolation & purification / RNA - metabolism / Roles / Sequence Analysis, RNA / Signal transduction / Signal Transduction - drug effects / Signaling / Stress / Stress (Physiology) / Studies / TLR4 protein / Toll-Like Receptor 4 - genetics / Toll-Like Receptor 4 - metabolism / Toll-like receptors / Transcriptome - drug effects / Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A - genetics / Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A - metabolism