The study aimed to determine the effects of orally supplemental zinc on body weight, Salmonella invasion, serum IgA, intestinal histomorphology, and immune response of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium (S. typhimurium)-challenged young pigeons. A total of 72 healthy White King pigeons (25 days old) with similar weight were randomly assigned to 3 treatments with six replicate cages. The 3 treatments were unchallenged, S. typhimurium-challenged, and S. typhimurium-challenged orally supplemented with 1 mg zinc per bird. Salmonella infection decreased (P < 0.05) the body weight, the bursa index, the serum IgA content, and the villus height/crypt depth ratio in the ileum, but increased the neutrophil proportion (P < 0.001) and the mRNA expressions of IL-1β and IL-8 in the jejunum (P < 0.05). Orally supplemental zinc reduced (P = 0.007) the bacterial load in the liver and improved (P < 0.05) the body weight, the bursa index, the serum IgA content, the villus height/crypt depth ratio, and the NOD-like receptor family pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3) protein expression, as well as tended to increase (P = 0.064) the protein abundance of caspase-1 of the jejunum, but did not alleviate the high level of neutrophil proportion and IL-1β mRNA expression of the jejunum (P > 0.05). The results indicated that oral zinc supplementation improved the intestinal mucosal morphology and enhanced the immune response, as well as activated caspase-1-dependent cell pyroptosis pathways in the jejunal epithelium, thereby restricting Salmonella invasion of the challenged young pigeons.
【저자키워드】 Zinc, Salmonella, Intestinal morphology, Cell pyroptosis, Young pigeons,