Effects of Acute and Chronic Cold Stress on
Expression of Cyclooxygenase-2 and Prostaglandin
E Synthase Mrna in Quails Intestine
J. Fu, C.P. Liu1, Z.W. Zhang1,
W. Liao2 and S.W. Xu1,*
College
ofAnimal Science
and Technology, 1Department of Veterinary Medicine, Northeast Agricultural
University, Harbin 150030, China; 2College of Life
Sciences, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun 130118, China
*Corresponding author: shiwenxu@neau.edu.cn
Abstract
The cold temperature, a common
environmental stress, reduces the immunity and re-production activities of the
poultry. This study aims to investigate the role of acute and chronic cold
exposure in the regulation of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and prostaglandin E
synthase (PTGES) expression in the duodenum, jejunum, and ileum of quails. A total of 96 quails with 15 days of age were randomly allocated into 12
groups (8 each group) for exposure to acute (up to 12 h) and chronic (up to 20
days) cold temperature (12±1°C). After that, different segments of the intestine
were harvested and subjected to morphology observations under the light and
electronic microscopes. qRT-PCR was performed to analyze expression of COX-2 and
PTGES, and DNA sequencing was performed to analyze PCR products. The data showed
that under acute cold stress, expression of COX-2 and PTGES mRNA was first
decreased and then increased in the duodenum, jejunum, and ileum of quails.
However, chronic cold stress induced expression of COX-2 and PTGES mRNA in the
duodenum, jejunum and ileum of quails, which was then reduced after 20 days of
cold exposure. Morphologically,
significant changes were also observed in the duodenum, jejunum and ileum
after both acute and chronic cold stresses to the animals. The data from the
current study indicated that both acute and chronic cold stresses were able to
induce inflammation responses in the duodenum, jejunum and ileum, which might be
due to the cold-damaged intestinal morphology.