The Expression of NF-kB Signaling Pathway Was Inhibited by Silencing TGF-b4 in Chicken IECs Infected with E. tenella

ABSTRACT

Chicken coccidiosis is a parasitic disease caused by one or more species of Eimeria infection with severe consequences. The NF-κB signaling pathway and TGF-β4 play an important role in the inflammation and immune response caused by coccidiosis infection. This study was designed to investigate the changes of NF-κB signaling pathway and the effects of TGF-β4 silencing on the expression of NF-κB signaling pathway in chicken’s intestinal epithelial cells (IECs) after infecting with E. tenella sporozoites. TGF-β4 small interfering RNA (TGF-β4 siRNA) sequences were transfected into chicken IECs for reducing TGF-β4 expression. The results showed that compared with uninfected control group (Con.), the proinflammatory factors of NF-κB, IL-6, IL-2, IL-1β increased significantly in the E. tenella infected group (ET) (p<0.05). In comparison with the IECs in the ET, the expression level of NF-κB, IL-6, IL-2, IL-1β dropped significantly in the group infected both by E. tenella and TGF-β4 siRNA vector (ET+siRNA) (p<0.05). The results of this experiment indicate that NF-κB signaling pathway is closely correlated with TGF-β4 in IECs infected with coccidia sporozoites. TGF-β4 plays an important role in regulating the immune function of coccidia-infected chicken epithelial cells through NF-κB signaling pathway and preventing immune-mediated pathological changes.

Keywords:
NF-κB signaling pathway; TGF-β4; IECs; Coccidiosis; Chicken