Inflammatory Factor Alterations in the Gastrointestinal Tract of Cocks Overexposed to Arsenic Trioxide

Exposure of people and animals to arsenic (As) is a global public health concern because As is widely distributed and associated with numerous adverse effects. As is a poisonous metalloid and arsenic trioxide (As2O3) is a form of As. Thus far, there have been very few reports on the inflammatory factor alterations of the gastrointestinal tract in birds exposed to As2O3. To investigate the possible correlation of As2O3 with inflammatory injury induced by an arsenic-supplemented diet in birds, 72 1-day-old male Hy-line cocks were selected and randomly divided into four groups. They were fed with either a commercial diet or an arsenic-supplemented diet containing 7.5, 15, and 30 mg/kg As2O3. The experiment lasted for 90 days, and samples of gizzard, glandular stomach, duodenum, jejunum, ileum, cecum, and rectum were collected at days 30, 60, and 90 of the experiment period. The inflammation-related genes were determined, including NF-κB, iNOS, COX-2, PTGEs, and TNF-α. The connection between arsenic dosage and inflammation-related genes was assessed. The content of inducible NO synthase (iNOS) was measured by Western blot of the samples. The results showed that arsenic supplementation increased the mRNA expression levels of inflammation-related genes in the gastrointestinal tract of cocks at different time points (p < 0.05). Moreover, the expression of the tissue and organ injury-related gene iNOS was upregulated (p < 0.05). These data suggest that As induces the inflammatory response and may trigger digestive function regression of the gastrointestinal tract by affecting inflammation-related genes and iNOS in cocks. This study offers some information on the mechanism of gastrointestinal tract inflammatory injury and iNOS expression level alterations induced by arseniasis.