Protective role of UDP-glucosyltransferases against deoxynivalenol-induced proventriculitis in chicks.

This study establishes the deoxynivalenol (DON)-induced proventriculitis model in chicks to evaluate the protective effects of UDP-glucosyltransferases (UGTs) against glandular stomach injury. In this study, the total of 75 1-day-old male partridge chicks were randomly divided into 5 groups or 10 days, the dietary and treatments includes basal diet as control group (CON), basal diet with 10 mg/kg DON as DON group, basal diet and infection with avian pathogenic Escherichia coli (APEC) and Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG) as APEC + MG group, basal diet with 10 mg/kg DON and infection with APEC and MG as APEC + MG + DON group, and, basal diet with 10 mg/kg DON and UGTs 100 mg/kg and infection with APEC and MG as APEC + MG + DON + UGTs group. Glandular stomach injury scores, histopathological changes and the expression levels of genes involved in intestinal integrity and permeability, inflammation, apoptosis and oxidative stress in the glandular stomach were evaluated. The results revealed that UGTs exerts its effects by lowering the glandular stomach injury score, increasing the expression of genes involved in glandular stomach integrity and permeability and decreasing the expression of genes involved in inflammation, apoptosis, oxidative stress. We concluded that dietary supplementation with UGTs has protective effects against glandular stomach damage caused by DON in partridge chicks.