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Effects of Selenium and Cadmium on Changes in the Gene Expression of Immune Cytokines in Chicken Splenic Lymphocytes

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Abstract

Cadmium (Cd) is an environmental pollutant that is considered to be a potent toxin to organisms. Selenium (Se) has been known for its concomitant biological effects and characteristics with Cd. Due to the lack of the research regarding how the duality of Cd/Se affects immune cytokines in poultry, this paper aims to partly tackle this question. Chicken splenic lymphocytes with Cd (10−6 mol/L CdCl2), Se (10−7 mol/L Na2SeO3), Cd + Se (10−7 mol/L Na2SeO3 and 10−6 mol/L CdCl2), and a control group were incubated for 12, 24, 36, 48, and 60 h, respectively. At each time point, the cells were collected and the messenger RNA (mRNA) expression levels of interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-2, IL-4, IL-10, IL-17, and interferon-γ (IFN-γ) were also examined. Compared with the control group and the Se-alone-treated group, the mRNA expression levels of IL-2, IL-4, IL-10, IL-17, and IFN-γ decreased significantly in the Cd-alone-treated group. By contrast, the mRNA expression level of IL-1β markedly increased. Levels of IL-2, IL-4, IL-10, IL-17, and IFN-γ in Cd + Se-treated groups were significantly higher than those in Cd-alone-treated groups; however, the levels were not as high as the Se-alone-treated groups and the control group. The mRNA expression level of IL-1β in the Cd + Se-treated group was lower than in the Cd-alone-treated group. The relationships with IL-2, IL-4, and IL-10 were found to be closer in the PC 1 matrix and 3D plot of the principal component analysis (PCA) loadings. IL-17 and IFN-γ were closer in the matrix of PC 2. However, IL-1β gene expression appeared to be isolated in the matrix of PC 3. In addition, the results of cytokine cluster analysis showed that IL-2, IL-4, IL-10, IL-17, and IFN-γ were in the first group and that IL-1β was in the second group. Therefore, Se partly attenuate immune toxicity induced by Cd in chicken splenic lymphocytes.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 31472161).

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The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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  1. College of Veterinary Medicine, Northeast Agricultural University, Harbin, 150030, People’s Republic of China

    Feng** Xu, Shuang Liu & Shu Li

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  1. Feng** Xu
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  2. Shuang Liu
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Correspondence to Shu Li.

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Xu, F., Liu, S. & Li, S. Effects of Selenium and Cadmium on Changes in the Gene Expression of Immune Cytokines in Chicken Splenic Lymphocytes. Biol Trace Elem Res 165, 214–221 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-015-0254-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-015-0254-2

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