Influence of dietary vitamin E and selenium supplementation on broilers subjected to heat stress, Part II: oxidative stress, immune response, gut integrity, and intestinal microbiota

This study evaluated the effects of vitamin E (Vit E) and selenium (Se) supplementation on mRNA abundance of antioxidant, immune response, and tight junction genes, as well as taxonomic and functional profiles of ileal microbiota of broilers exposed to daily 4-h elevated temperature during d 28 to 35. A total of 640-day-old Cobb male broiler chicks were randomly allocated to 32 floor pens in a 2 x 2 factorial arrangement that included ambient temperature (thermoneutral [TN] or heat stress [HS]) and dietary treatments (basal diet or Vit E + Se). Vit E and organic Se were added to the basal diet at the rate of 250 mg/kg and 1 mg/kg, respectively. Liver and jejunum tissue samples were taken on d 27 (1 bird/pen), d 28 and d 35 (2 birds/pen) from birds for qPCR analysis. Data were subjected to a 2-way ANOVA using the GLM procedure of JMP. Ileal contents were taken on d 27 and d 35 for microbial profiling. Microbiota data were analyzed in QIIME 2 and significance between treatments identified linear discriminant analysis effect size (LEfSe, P < 0.05). Dietary Vit E/Se significantly downregulated the mRNA levels of HSPs in liver and jejunal tissues of the HS-challenged birds both on d 28 and d 35. Moreover, mRNA abundance of TLR2, INF alpha, IFN gamma, IL-1 beta, IL-10, and iNOS in the liver were significantly downregulated in birds fed the Vit E/Se diet on d 35. However, dietary treatment had no significant impact on oxidative stress, immunity, and gut integrity related genes analyzed in jejunal tissues on d 28 and d 35, except downregulation of IFN gamma on d 35 (P = 0.052). LEfSe analysis revealed that Lachnospiraceae FE2018 and Ruminococcaceae NK4A214 groups was enriched in the Vit E/Se birds on d 35. Moreover, PICRUSt analysis predicted significant functional differences among the treatment groups. In conclusion, dietary supplementation of Vit E/Se mitigated the negative effects of HS potentially via improving antioxidant status, regulating cytokine responses and modifying ileal microbiota and its function.