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. 2022 Sep 1;100(9):skac244.
doi: 10.1093/jas/skac244.

Astragalus polysaccharide mitigates transport stress-induced hepatic metabolic stress via improving hepatic glucolipid metabolism in chicks

Bi-Chen Zhao  1 , Yi-Xi Tang  1 , Bai-Hao Qiu  1 , Hao-Liang Xu  1 , Tian-Hao Wang  1 , Ahmed Ibrahim Ahmed Elsherbeni  2 , Hassan Bayoumi Ali Gharib  3 , Jin-Long Li  1   4   5
Affiliations

Astragalus polysaccharide mitigates transport stress-induced hepatic metabolic stress via improving hepatic glucolipid metabolism in chicks

Bi-Chen Zhao et al. J Anim Sci. .

Abstract

In the modern poultry industry, newly hatched chicks are unavoidably transported from the hatching to the rearing foster. Stress caused by multiple physical and psychological stressors during transportation is particularly harmful to the liver. Astragalus polysaccharide (APS) possesses multiple benefits against hepatic metabolic disorders. Given that transport stress could disturb hepatic glucolipid metabolism and the role of APS in metabolic regulation, we speculated that APS could antagonize transport stress-induced disorder of hepatic glucolipid metabolism. Firstly, newly hatched chicks were transported for 0, 2, 4, and 8 h, respectively. Subsequently, to further investigate the effects of APS on transport stress-induced hepatic glucolipid metabolism disturbance, chicks were pretreated with water or APS and then subjected to transport treatment. Our study suggested that APS could relieve transport stress-induced lipid deposition in liver. Meanwhile, transport stress also induced disturbances in glucose metabolism, reflected by augmented mRNA expression of key molecules in gluconeogenesis and glycogenolysis. Surprisingly, APS could simultaneously alleviate these alterations via peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator 1 alpha (PGC-1α)/Sirtuin 1 (SIRT1)/AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) pathway. Moreover, APS treatment regulated the level of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPARα) and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ), thereby alleviating transport stress-induced alterations of VLDL synthesis, cholesterol metabolism, lipid oxidation, synthesis, and transport-related molecules. These findings indicated that APS could prevent the potential against transport stress-induced hepatic glucolipid metabolism disorders via PGC-1α/SIRT1/AMPK/PPARα/PPARγ signaling system.

Keywords: Astragalus polysaccharide; glucolipid metabolism; hepatic steatosis; newly hatched chicks; transport stress.

Plain language summary

In the modern poultry industry, newly hatched chicks are unavoidably transported from the hatching to the rearing foster. During transportation, chicks are frequently subjected to various physical and psychological stressors, which can lead to alterations in blood composition, hormones, metabolites, enzymes, and behavior. These alterations adversely affect animal health and welfare. Stress caused by transportation is especially harmful to liver, which can cause significant effects on liver function, and disturb hepatic lipid metabolism and glucose metabolic. The current study demonstrated that Astragalus polysaccharide (APS) possesses multiple benefits against hepatic metabolic disorders. Administration of APS to chicks before transport could prevent transport-induced stress and hepatic glucolipid metabolism disorders.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Effects of transport stress on histopathological analysis of liver tissue in chicks. (A) Average liver weights. (B) Average liver weights relative to body weights. (C) Photomicrographs of hematoxylin and eosin (H&E)-stained liver sections. (D) Hepatic steatosis score of H&E staining. (E) Photomicrographs of Oil Red O staining of liver sections. (F) Quantification of Oil Red O staining. Concentration of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) (G), cortisolin (H), and glucose (I) in serum. The presented values are the means ± SEMs (n = 6). *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01 compared with the transport 0 h group.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Effects of transport stress on the expression of glucolipid metabolism-related molecules in chicks. (A) Mapping of the transcription of genes related to gluconeogenesis, glycolysis, lipogenesis, triglyceride metabolism, and lipoprotein synthesis in the liver. (B) Hepatic protein levels of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator 1 alpha (PGC-1α), Sirtuin 1 (SIRT1), p-AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), and AMPK. (C) Quantification of hepatic protein levels of PGC-1α, SIRT1, p-AMPK, and AMPK. (D) Hepatic protein levels of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPARα), peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ), and sterol regulatory element binding protein (SREBP1). (E) Relative mRNA abundance of PPARα, PPARγ, and SREBP1. The presented values are the means ± SEMs (n = 6). *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01 compared with the transport 0 h group.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Effects of transport and Astragalus polysaccharide (APS) cotreatment on hepatic steatosis in chicks. (A) Average liver weights. (B) Average liver weights relative to body weights. (C) Photomicrographs of hematoxylin and eosin (H&E)-stained liver sections. (D) Hepatic steatosis score of H&E staining. (E) Photomicrographs of Oil Red O staining of liver sections. (F) Quantification of Oil Red O staining. Concentration of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) (G), cortisolin (H) and glucose (I) in serum. The presented values are the means ± SEMs (n = 6). *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01 compared with the control 0 h group. #P < 0.05, ##P < 0.01 compared with the transport group.
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
Effects of transport and Astragalus polysaccharide (APS) cotreatment on hepatic glucose metabolism in chicks. (A) Heat map of normalized mean mRNA levels of glucose metabolism-related molecules. (B) Hepatic protein levels of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator 1 alpha (PGC-1α), Sirtuin 1 (SIRT1), p-AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), and AMPK in 2 h control, transport, transport + water, transport + APS groups. (C) Quantification of hepatic protein levels of PGC-1α, SIRT1, p-AMPK, and AMPK in 2 h control, transport, transport + water, transport + APS groups. (D) Hepatic protein levels of PGC-1α, SIRT1, p-AMPK, and AMPK in 4 h control, transport, transport + water, transport + APS groups. (E) Quantification of hepatic protein levels of PGC-1α, SIRT1, p-AMPK, and AMPK in 4 h control, transport, transport + water, transport + APS groups. (F) Hepatic protein levels of PGC-1α, SIRT1, p-AMPK, and AMPK in 8 h control, transport, transport + water, transport + APS groups. (G) Quantification of hepatic protein levels of PGC-1α, SIRT1, p-AMPK, and AMPK in 8 h control, transport, transport + water, transport + APS groups. The presented values are the means ± SEMs (n = 6). *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01 compared with the control 0 h group. #P < 0.05, ##P < 0.01 compared with the transport group.
Figure 5.
Figure 5.
Effects of transport and Astragalus polysaccharide (APS) cotreatment on hepatic lipid metabolism in chicks. (A) Heat map of normalized mean mRNA levels of lipid metabolism-related molecules. (B) Hepatic protein levels of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPARα), peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ), and sterol regulatory element binding protein (SREBP1) in 2 h control, transport, transport + water, transport + APS groups. (C) Quantification of hepatic protein levels of PPARα, PPARγ, and SREBP1 in 2 h control, transport, transport + water, transport + APS groups. (D) Hepatic protein levels of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator 1 alpha (PGC-1α), PPARα, PPARγ, and SREBP1 in 4 h control, transport, transport + water, transport + APS groups. (E) Quantification of hepatic protein levels of PPARα, PPARγ, and SREBP1 in 4 h control, transport, transport + water, transport + APS groups. (F) Hepatic protein levels of PPARα, PPARγ, and SREBP1 in 8 h control, transport, transport + water, transport + APS groups. (G) Quantification of hepatic protein levels of PPARα, PPARγ, and SREBP1 in 8 h control, transport, transport + water, transport + APS groups. The presented values are the means ± SEMs (n = 6). *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01 compared with the control 0 h group. #P < 0.05, ##P < 0.01 compared with the transport group.
Figure 6.
Figure 6.
Hypothetical underlying mechanism of Astragalus polysaccharide (APS) alleviates transport stress-induced hepatic glucolipid metabolism disorders.
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