Combined serum lipid levels and lipidomic analysis reveals effects of Eimeria maxima and Eimeria tenella infection on lipid metabolism in chicken.

Abstract

Chicken coccidiosis caused by Eimeria spp. has serious adverse effects on the global poultry industry. Previous studies have found Eimeria infection disrupts the absorption of nutrients and the efficiency of utilization of protein and energy in the diet. However, the effects of Eimeria infection on the absorption and utilization of dietary lipids are poorly understood. This study aimed to investigate the effects of Eimeria infection on dietary lipid absorption and to reveal possible mechanism influencing lipid metabolism in chicken. Forty-five 28-day-old yellow-feather chickens were allocated to one of three groups (n&#x202f;=&#x202f;15), and orally infected with 2.0&#x202f;&#xd7;&#x202f;10sporulated E. maxima oocysts (Em group) or E. tenella oocysts (Et group) or distilled water (NC group), respectively. The body weight gains of chicken in Em group significantly decreased compared with that in Et and NC group. E. maxima infection caused a large number of oily droplets to be excreted from the stool. Compared with that in NC group, the levels of serum lipids decreased in Em group but increased in Et group (P&#x202f;<&#x202f;0.05). Of 12 genes related to lipid metabolism, the transcription levels of 11 genes were different between Em group and Et group, and the transcript levels of seven genes were reduced and five genes increased in Em group compared with that in NC group (P&#x202f;<&#x202f;0.05). These results showed that the mechanisms influencing the absorption and metabolism of lipids were not consistent between E. maxima and E. tenella infection. A total of 21 differentially expressed metabolites (DEMs) in feces and 14 DEMs in serum between Em group and NC group were identified by lipidomic analysis. Of these, all DEMs in feces was upregulated in Em group, and 16 DEMs were long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFA). Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis showed that E. maxima infection mainly altered the unsaturated fatty acid biosynthesis and linoleic acid metabolism. Our study presented the first global serum lipidome profile and revealed the lipid metabolic dysregulation patterns caused by E. maxima infection. Furthermore, our findings expanded our current understanding coccidiosis pathogenesis and provided a new basis for the diagnosis and treatment.