State Key Laboratory for Managing Biotic and Chemical Threats to the Quality and Safety of Agro-Products, Institute of Quality and Standard for Agro-Products, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou 310021, China.
Institute of Ecology, Key Laboratory of Southwest China Wildlife Resources Conservation (Ministry of Education), China West Normal University, Nanchong 637009, China.
Biomed Res Int. 2020 Dec 14;2020:2567861. doi: 10.1155/2020/2567861. eCollection 2020.
Defensins are a class of antimicrobial peptides in vertebrates that function as the first line of innate immunity with potent antimicrobial and immunomodulatory activities. Fourteen defensins, namely, avian -defensin 1 to 14 (-14), have been identified in chickens. Before characterizing the role of s in innate immunity during the early development of chickens, we collected tissue segments from the liver, spleen, and gastrointestinal (GI) tract including the esophagus, crop, proventriculus, gizzard, duodenum, jejunum, ileum, cecum, and colon from broilers at days 1, 3, 7, 14, and 28. After RNA isolation and reverse transcription, we determined the expression levels of the 14 genes in these tissues during the first 28 days after hatching by real-time PCR. The results suggested the s were widely expressed in the chicken liver, spleen, and gastrointestinal (GI) tract. Interestingly, we did not detect expressed in the GI tract, even in the liver and spleen. Additionally, s were differentially expressed in the chicken GI tract. and were expressed most abundantly in the proximal GI tract, especially the esophagus and crop. Moreover, , , , and were expressed in an inverted-V pattern with the peak being the observed expression at days 3, 7, or 14 in the chicken spleen, esophagus, duodenum, and cecum. Other s presented biphasic or inverted-V expression patterns in different tissues. The expression levels of all detected s were strengthened after hatching rather than decreasing steadily. Therefore, s were found to be expressed widely in the chicken liver, spleen, and GI tract and their expression levels were primarily up regulated during the early development of chicken, implying the potential essential roles of s in early innate defense and infection resistance of chickens.
防御素是脊椎动物中一类抗菌肽，作为先天免疫的第一道防线，具有强大的抗菌和免疫调节活性。在 characterizing 鸡先天免疫中的作用之前，我们从 1 日龄、3 日龄、7 日龄、14 日龄和 28 日龄肉鸡的肝脏、脾脏和胃肠道（包括食管、嗉囊、前胃、肌胃、十二指肠、空肠、回肠、盲肠和结肠）组织中收集组织段。在 RNA 分离和反转录后，通过实时 PCR 确定了这些组织在孵化后前 28 天内 14 个 基因的表达水平。结果表明，s 在鸡的肝脏、脾脏和胃肠道中广泛表达。有趣的是，我们没有检测到在胃肠道中表达，甚至在肝脏和脾脏中也没有。此外，s 在鸡的胃肠道中差异表达。和 在近端胃肠道中表达最丰富，特别是在食管和嗉囊中。此外，、、、和 在鸡脾脏、食管、十二指肠和盲肠中呈倒 V 型表达模式，峰值为 3、7 或 14 日龄。其他 s 在不同组织中呈现双峰或倒 V 型表达模式。所有检测到的 s 的表达水平在孵化后增强，而不是稳定下降。因此，s 在鸡的肝脏、脾脏和胃肠道中广泛表达，其表达水平在鸡的早期发育中主要上调，这表明 s 在鸡的早期先天防御和抗感染中具有潜在的重要作用。
