Effects of pre-hatch thermal manipulation and post-hatch acute heat stress on the mRNA expression of interleukin-6 and genes involved in its induction pathways in 2 broiler chicken breeds

ABSTRACT In response to heat stress, interleukin-6 (IL-6) expression is upregulated in broiler chickens. The main aim of the present study was to evaluate the cumulative effects of thermal manipulation (TM) and subsequent acute heat stress (AHS) on the mRNA expression of IL-6 and genes involved in its induction pathways. The studied genes include IL-6, IL-1β, TNF-α, TLR2, TLR4, NFκB50, NFκB65, Hsp70, and HSF3 in the spleen and liver tissues. TM was carried out at 39°C for 18 h and 65% relative humidity during days 10 to 18 of embryonic development, while AHS was stimulated by raising the temperature to 40°C for 7 h on post-hatch day 28. During AHS at 0, 1, 3, 5, and 7 h, the spleen and liver were collected from all groups to measure the mRNA expression by relative-quantitation real-time RT-PCR, and the blood was collected to measure plasma IL-6 level. TM significantly reduced Tc during AHS for both breeds from 1 to 7 h time intervals. TM resulted in enhanced basal mRNA expression of IL-6, HSF3, and Hsp70, but decreased the basal mRNA level of TLR4. During heat stress, TM enhanced the expression dynamics of Hsp70, HSF3, IL-6, IL-1β, TNF-α, TLR2, TLR4, NFκB50, and NFκB65. The results of the current study indicate that TM enhanced the heat tolerance through improving the protective immunological response to heat stress by enhancing the expression of IL-6 and modulating the expression of genes important in its induction pathways.