Trehalose prevents glyphosate-induced kidney damage in roosters via inhibiting apoptosis

Glyphosate (Gly) is a globally prevalent herbicide, which poses significant health risks to human and animals via the food chain. The kidney is the primary excretory organ and a site of residual accumulation during Gly exposure. Trehalose (Tre) has been shown to prevent kidney injury induced by various toxicants due to its anti-apoptotic properties. However, the potential protective effect of Tre on Gly-induced kidney damage in poultry remains unclear. Thus, 60 one-day-old healthy Hy-line Brown roosters were randomly divided into three groups (n = 20), i.e., control group (basal diet without Gly), Gly group (200 mg Gly/kg basal diet), and Gly + Tre group {(200 mg Gly plus 5 g Tre)/kg basal diet}. The experiment lasted for 120 days, and serum and kidney samples were finally collected for respective analysis. Data first showed that Tre treatment can significantly alleviate Gly-induced renal injury in roosters, as evidenced by serum levels of creatinine and blood urea nitrogen as well as renal histopathological observations. Tre also significantly inhibited the elevated abundance of renal injury marker proteins KIM-1 and NGAL induced by Gly. Meanwhile, Tre obviously alleviated Gly-induced ultrastructural abnormalities in the nuclei of renal tissues. Additionally, Tre markedly inhibited Gly-induced apoptotic assays in rooster kidneys, as demonstrated by the results from TUNEL staining and the protein abundance of apoptotic markers cleaved caspase-3 and cleaved PARP. In summary, these findings suggest that Tre exerts its protective effects against Gly-induced kidney damage in roosters via inhibiting apoptosis.