MUCIN2 GENE EXPRESSION IN THE CHICKEN INTESTINAL GOBLET CELLS ARE AFFECTED BY DIETARY ESSENTIAL OILS

Dr. Shokoufe Ghazanfari, Mohammad Ali Ebrahimi, Somayeh Zeinali

Abstract: The mucous layer that covers the intestinal absorptive surface acts as a diffusive barrier between the intestinal lumen and absorptive cells. In this report, we studied the effect of changing the body weight, intestinal mucin2 gene expression and number of goblet cells by feeding 1-d-old chicks a control diet or a diet containing either an antibiotic growth promoter or dietary essential oils (clove, coriondrum, artemisia sieberi and myrtle) at three levels. On day 42 of age two birds from each replicate were randomly selected, weight and then slaughtered. Goblet cell number was analyzed from each preparation. Mucin2 mRNA expression in intestinal jejunum tissue was quantitated using real-time quantitative PCR. We found that body weights were increased in chicks fed antibiotic and essential oil treatments compared with those fed control diet at 42 days of age (P<0.01). Dietary essential oils increased the mucin2 gene expression in the jejunum compared with the control treatment (P<0.05). In dietary essential oils fed chicks, the number of goblet cells was decreased in the small intestine compared with control treatment (P<0.05). These results indicate that essential oils altered processes of mucin biosynthesis via changes in the intestinal mucin2 gene expression and number of goblet cells. These modifications in mucin dynamics influence gut function and health and may change nutrient uptake.

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Date published: 2017-02-24