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. 2020 Jul 15:198:110619.
doi: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2020.110619. Epub 2020 Apr 25.

Ammonia-triggered apoptosis via immune function and metabolic process in the thymuses of chickens by proteomics analysis

Dechun Chen  1 , Guanghui Hu  2 , Shuai Zhang  2 , Hongfu Zhang  3 , Xiaohua Teng  4
Affiliations

Ammonia-triggered apoptosis via immune function and metabolic process in the thymuses of chickens by proteomics analysis

Dechun Chen et al. Ecotoxicol Environ Saf. .

Abstract

Ammonia (NH3), an environmental pollutant with a pungent odor, is not only an important volatile in fertilizer production and ranching, but also main basic component of haze. In present study, we found that ultrastructural changes and 3167 differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) using proteomics analysis in the thymuses of chickens exposed to NH3 on day 42. Obtained DEPs were enriched using GO and KEGG; and 66 DEPs took part in immune function, metabolic process, and apoptosis in the thymuses of chickens treated with NH3. 9 genes of DEPs were validated using qRT-PCR, and mRNA expression of 2 immune-related genes (CTSG and NFATC2), 3 metabolic process-related genes (APOA1, GOT1, and GOLGA3), and 4 apoptosis-related genes (PIK3CD, CTSS, CAMP, and NSD2) were consistent with DEPs in chicken thymuses. Our results indicated that excess NH3 led to immunosuppression, metabolic disorder, and apoptosis in chicken thymuses. Present study gives a novel insight into the mechanism of NH3 toxicity and demonstrated that immune response, metabolism process, and apoptosis were important in the mechanism of NH3 toxicity of chicken exposure to high concentration of NH3.

Keywords: Ammonia; Apoptosis; Chicken thymus; Immune function; Metabolic process; Proteomics analysis.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of competing interest None of the authors have any financial or personal relationships that could inappropriately influence or bias the content of the paper. We declare that we have no financial and personal relationships with other people or organizations that can inappropriately influence our work, there is no professional or other personal interest of any nature or kind in any product, service and/or company that could be construed as influencing the position presented in, or the review of, the manuscript entitled “Ammonia-triggered apoptosis via immune function and metabolic process in the thymuses of chickens by proteomics analysis”.

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