Correlation between heart muscle damage and high-nutrient feed in broiler chickens

iTRAQ-based proteomic analysis reveals key proteins affecting cardiac function in broilers that died of sudden death syndrome

Sudden death syndrome (SDS), which is a cardiac-related condition commonly observed in chickens selected for rapid growth, causes significant economic losses to the global poultry industry. Its pathogenesis in broilers is poorly understood, and little is known about the proteome of the heart tissue of SDS broilers. A quantitative proteomic approach using isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantification labeling of peptides was used to characterize the protein expression profiles in the left ventricle of SDS broilers. These proteins were further analyzed by bioinformatics, and two proteins were validated by western blot analysis. We identified 186 differentially expressed proteins (DEPs), of which 72 were upregulated, and 114 were downregulated in the SDS group. Functional annotation suggested that 7 DEPs were related to cardiac muscle contraction, and another 7 DEPs were related to cardiac energy metabolism. Protein interaction network predictions indicated that differences in cardiac muscle contraction between SDS and healthy groups were regulated by troponin T, tropomyosin alpha-1 chain, fast myosin heavy chain HCIII, myosin-1B, coronin, and myoglobin, whereas differences in cardiac energy metabolism and biosynthesis of amino acids were regulated by gamma-enolase, phosphoglycerate mutase, NADH-ubiquinone oxidoreductase chain 2, serine/threonine-protein kinase, myoglobin, and alpha-amylase. Our expression profiles provide useful information and new insights into key proteins to elucidate SDS for further studies.

Differences in ventricular vulnerability, serum enzyme activities, and electrolyte levels between male and female broilers

Sudden death syndrome (SDS) is one of the most serious diseases of fast-growing broilers. The incidence of SDS may result from a decrease in ventricular function. The purpose of this study was to explore the mechanism of sexual difference in the sensitivity of broilers to SDS by measuring their ventricular vulnerability, serum enzyme activities, and serum electrolyte levels. Results were as follows. 1) Ventricular fibrillation thresholds induced by injection of KCl and by electrical stimulus of male broilers were both significantly lower than those of female broilers (P < 0.05), suggesting that the ventricular vulnerability of male broilers was higher than that of female broilers. 2) Serum lactate dehydrogenase and creatine kinase activities of male broilers were significantly higher than those of female broilers (P < 0.01), but there was not a significant difference in serum aspartate aminotransferase activity between male and female broilers. 3) No significant difference was observed in serum electrolyte levels of potassium, sodium, and chloride between males and females. From these results, we concluded that there is a significant difference between males and females in their ventricular vulnerability and serum enzyme activities, which may result in a higher sensitivity of male broilers to injury of the myocardium by stress and may further result in a sexual difference in sensitivity to SDS.