Cold stress initiates the Nrf2/UGT1A1/L-FABP signaling pathway in chickens

Cold stress triggers an anti-oxidative response in animals regulated by Nrf2 (nuclear factor 2-like, NFE2L2) binding to deoxyribonucleic acid-regulatory sequences near stress-responsive genes. To identify chicken Nrf2-regulated genes, 3 genetically related experimental groups (EG) with 40 Huainan partridge chickens in each group were chosen. The chickens were maintained at 20°C environmental temperature from 5 wk of age. At 6 wk of age, 10 chickens from each EG were still maintained at 20°C as control, and the other 30 chickens from each EG were exposed to 6 ± 2°C. Liver samples were collected from the control and from chickens exposed to 6 ± 2°C for 12, 24, and 72 h for co-immuno-precipitation (CoIP) analysis. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP)-sequencing experiment in liver cells treated with Dimethyl fumarate (DMF) were carried out. A de novo motif was discovered which closely matched the core Nrf2 consensus binding motif. Genes involved in de novo motif discovery were further analyzed for their enrichment in the anti-oxidative response pathway and the lipid anabolism pathway. There were 14 genes found which are related to oxidative stress. To examine the downstream factors of the 14 responsive genes, one of them, UGT1A1 (UDP glucuronosyltransferase), was further analyzed by CoIP experiment and nano LC-ESI-MS/MS analysis. It was detected that fatty acid-binding protein (L-FABP, 127 AA) might be the potential UGT1A1 downstream interaction proteins. In conclusion, it is proposed that chickens under cold stress generate anti-oxidative stress and thus trigger the Nrf2/ARE signaling pathway, which further up-regulates the expression of L-FABP to inactivate lipid peroxidation of the cell membrane and promote fatty acid storage against the cold environment.