Effects of N-acetyl-l-cysteine on heat stress-induced oxidative stress and inflammation in the hypothalamus of hens.
- 2021-05
- Journal of thermal biology 98
- Yulan Zhao
- Yu Zhuang
- Yan Shi
- Zheng Xu
- Changming Zhou
- Lianying Guo
- Ping Liu
- Cong Wu
- Ruiming Hu
- Guoliang Hu
- Xiaoquan Guo
- Lanjiao Xu
- PubMed: 34016350
- DOI: 10.1016/j.jtherbio.2021.102927
Study Design
- Type
- Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT)
- Sample size
- n = 120
- Population
- 120 Hy-Line variety brown laying hens (12 weeks old)
- Methods
- randomly assigned to 4 groups with 6 replicates; basal diet with or without 1000 mg/kg NAC; heat stress at 36±1°C for 10 h per day for 21 consecutive days
- Duration
- 21 consecutive days
- Animal Study
The purpose of this study was to discuss the effects of N-acetyl-l-cysteine (NAC) on heat stress-induced oxidative stress and inflammation in the hypothalamus of hens in different periods. A total of 120 Hy-Line variety brown laying hens (12 weeks old) were randomly assigned to 4 groups with 6 replicates. The control group (C group) (22 ± 1 °C) received a basal diet, the NAC-treated group (N group) (22 ± 1 °C) received a basal diet with 1000 mg/kg NAC, and 2 heat-stressed groups (36 ± 1 °C for 10 h per day and 22 ± 1 °C for the remaining time) were fed a basal diet (HS group) or a basal diet with 1000 mg/kg NAC (HS + N group) for 21 consecutive days. The influence of NAC on histologic changes, oxidative stress and proinflammatory cytokine production was measured and analysed in hens with heat stress-induced hypothalamic changes. NAC effectively alleviated the hypothalamic morphological changes induced by heat stress. In addition, NAC attenuated the activity of the Nf-κB pathway activated by heat stress and decreased the expression of the proinflammatory cytokines IL-6, IL-18, TNF-α, IKK, and IFN-γ. In addition, NAC treatment regulated the expression of HO-1, GSH, SOD2 and PRDX3 by regulating the activity of Nrf2 at different time points to resist oxidative stress caused by heat exposure. In summary, dietary NAC may be an effective candidate for the treatment and prevention of heat stress-induced hypothalamus injury by preventing Nf-κB activation and controlling the Nrf2 pathway.