Nii Takahiro, Sugiura Takumi, Suzuki Naoki, Isobe Naoki, Yoshimura Yukinori
Graduate School of Integrated Science for Life, Hiroshima University, 1-4-4 Kagamiyama, Higashi-Hiroshima, 739-8528, Japan.
Japanese Avian Bioresource Project Research Center, Hiroshima University, 1-4-4 Kagamiyama, Higashi-Hiroshima, 739-8528, Japan.
J Poult Sci. 2025 Jul 11;62:2025018. doi: 10.2141/jpsa.2025018. eCollection 2025.
Aging and inflammation of the intestinal and oviductal mucosa reduce egg production in laying hens. In mammals, microbiota changes in the intestine and reproductive mucosa are linked to aging and mucosal inflammation, but this relationship remains unclear in hens. The present study aimed to investigate the impact of aging on microbiota and inflammation in the intestinal and oviductal mucosa of hens. Sixteen White Leghorn hens aged ~280 days (young) and ~730 days (aged) were used. Bacterial DNA was extracted from feces and vaginal swabs for 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing. Intestinal (ileum and cecum) and oviductal (uterus and vagina) tissues were processed for histological analysis. Real-time PCR was performed to profile pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines, tight junction-related molecules, and calbindin in the uterus. Whereas microbial diversity and composition in the vagina did not change with age; alpha-diversity of intestinal bacteria was lower in the aged group, as suggested by 46 genera showing a decrease and five an increase. The morphology of the ileum mucosa deteriorated, with transforming growth factor () being upregulated and claudin () being downregulated in the intestine of the aged group. Finally, fibrosis progressed with age in the uterine mucosa, along with overexpression of , , , and , but downregulation of calbindin in the oviductal mucosa. These results suggest that aging may impair intestinal and oviductal health through mucosal inflammation in both the intestine and oviduct of laying hens. This change may be related to alterations in the intestinal microbiota but appears less evident in the vagina.
肠道和输卵管黏膜的衰老与炎症会降低蛋鸡的产蛋量。在哺乳动物中，肠道和生殖黏膜中的微生物群变化与衰老和黏膜炎症有关，但这种关系在母鸡中仍不清楚。本研究旨在探讨衰老对母鸡肠道和输卵管黏膜中微生物群及炎症的影响。使用了16只约280日龄（年轻）和约730日龄（老龄）的白来航母鸡。从粪便和阴道拭子中提取细菌DNA用于16S rRNA扩增子测序。对肠道（回肠和盲肠）和输卵管（子宫和阴道）组织进行组织学分析。进行实时PCR以分析子宫中促炎和抗炎细胞因子、紧密连接相关分子以及钙结合蛋白的情况。虽然阴道中的微生物多样性和组成不会随年龄变化；老龄组肠道细菌的α多样性较低，46个属显示减少，5个属显示增加。老龄组回肠黏膜形态恶化，肠道中转化生长因子（）上调，紧密连接蛋白（）下调。最后，子宫黏膜纤维化随年龄进展，同时 、 、 和 过表达，但输卵管黏膜中钙结合蛋白下调。这些结果表明，衰老可能通过蛋鸡肠道和输卵管的黏膜炎症损害肠道和输卵管健康。这种变化可能与肠道微生物群的改变有关，但在阴道中似乎不太明显。
