Campylobacter jejuni influences the expression of nutrient transporter genes in the intestine of chickens.
The gastrointestinal tract represents the first barrier against pathogens. However, the interaction of Campylobacter with intestinal epithelial cells and its effects on the intestinal function of chickens are poorly studied. Therefore, the goal of the present study was to characterize the effects of C. jejuni oral infection on the mRNA expression of nutrient transporters in the intestine. Newly hatched specific pathogen-free (SPF) chickens were orally infected with C. jejuni (NCTC 12744; 1 × 10(8)CFU/bird) at 14 days of age. Quantitative RT-PCR analyses at 14 days-post infection (dpi) revealed that the relative gene expression of the sodium/glucose cotransporter (SGLT-1) and the peptide transporter (PepT-1) was down-regulated (P<0.05) in all investigated segments (duodenum, jejunum and cecum) of Campylobacter-infected birds, while the facilitated glucose transporter (GLUT-2) was down-regulated (P<0.05) in jejunal and cecal tissues only. Furthermore, down-regulation (P<0.05) of the cationic amino acid transporter (CAT-2) and the excitatory amino acid transporter (EAAT-3) was seen in the jejunum, and down-regulation (P<0.05) of the l-type amino acid transporter (y(+)LAT-2) was noticed in the duodenum of infected birds. The decreased expression of intestinal nutrient transporters coincided with a decrease (P<0.05) in body weight and body weight gain during a 2-week post infection period. For the first time, it can be concluded that nutrient transporter expression is compromised in the small and large intestine of Campylobacter-infected birds with negative consequences on growth performance. Furthermore, the down-regulation of mRNA expression of glucose and amino acid transporters may result in accumulation of nutrients in the intestinal lumen, which may favor C. jejuni replication and colonization.
Clinic for Poultry and Fish Medicine, Department for Farm Animals and Veterinary Public Health, University of Veterinary Medicine, A-1210 Vienna, Austria; Department of Animal Hygiene, Poultry and Environment and Department of Animal Behaviour and Management, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, South Valley University, 83523 Qena, Egypt. Electronic address: wageha.awad@vetmeduni.ac.at.
Wageha A
WA
Awad
Institute of Veterinary Physiology, Department of Veterinary Medicine, Free University of Berlin, 14163 Berlin, Germany.
Jörg R
JR
Aschenbach
Institute of Animal Nutrition and Functional Plant Compounds, Department for Farm Animals and Veterinary Public Health, University of Veterinary Medicine, Veterinärplatz 1, A-1210 Vienna, Austria; Department of Animal Hygiene, Poultry and Environment and Department of Animal Behaviour and Management, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, South Valley University, 83523 Qena, Egypt.
Khaled
K
Ghareeb
Clinic for Poultry and Fish Medicine, Department for Farm Animals and Veterinary Public Health, University of Veterinary Medicine, A-1210 Vienna, Austria.
Basel
B
Khayal
Clinic for Poultry and Fish Medicine, Department for Farm Animals and Veterinary Public Health, University of Veterinary Medicine, A-1210 Vienna, Austria.
Claudia
C
Hess
Clinic for Poultry and Fish Medicine, Department for Farm Animals and Veterinary Public Health, University of Veterinary Medicine, A-1210 Vienna, Austria.
Michael
M
Hess
D000818:Animals; D001835:Body Weight; D002169:Campylobacter Infections / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000382:microbiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D016123:Campylobacter jejuni / Q000502:physiology*; D027202:Cationic Amino Acid Transporter 2 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D002432:Cecum / Q000378:metabolism / Q000382:microbiology; D002645:Chickens / Q000382:microbiology*; D004386:Duodenum / Q000378:metabolism / Q000382:microbiology; D050580:Excitatory Amino Acid Transporter 3 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D051273:Glucose Transporter Type 2 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D054884:Host-Pathogen Interactions; D007583:Jejunum / Q000378:metabolism / Q000382:microbiology; D000074011:Peptide Transporter 1; D011201:Poultry Diseases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000382:microbiology*; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D051269:Sodium-Glucose Transporter 1 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D013047:Specific Pathogen-Free Organisms; D027981:Symporters / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
D027202:Cationic Amino Acid Transporter 2; D050580:Excitatory Amino Acid Transporter 3; D051273:Glucose Transporter Type 2; D000074011:Peptide Transporter 1; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D051269:Sodium-Glucose Transporter 1; D027981:Symporters
Amino acid transporter; Campylobacter jejuni; Chicken; Monosaccharide transporter; Peptide transporter