The role of heat shock proteins in oxidative stress damage induced by Se deficiency in chicken livers.

Selenium (Se) is an essential dietary trace element, which acts as an antioxidant. Heat shock proteins (HSPs) are a family of intracellular proteins whose synthesis is greatly increased upon exposure of cells to environmental stressors including oxidative metabolites, heavy metals, amino acid analogues and so on. However, little is known about the role of HSPs in oxidative stress damage induced by Se deficiency in the chicken liver. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of Se deficiency on the expression levels of HSPs (Hsps27, 40, 60, 70, and 90) and oxidative indexes in the chicken liver. A total of 300 1-day-old sea blue white laying hens were divided into two groups (n = 150/group), and each of those groups was randomly divided into groups so that the trials were conducted in triplicate. The Se-deficient group (-Se) was fed a Se-deficient corn-soy basal diet (the Se content was 0.02 mg/kg); the Se-adequate group as control (+Se) was fed the same basal diet supplemented with Se at 0.2 mg/kg (sodium selenite). The liver tissue was collected and examined for pathological observations, oxidative indexes, mRNA and protein levels of HSPs genes at 15, 25, 35, 45, 55 and 65 days old. The histopathological analysis showed that liver tissues were injured seriously in the Se-deficient group. The oxidative indexes data showed that the malondialdehyde (MDA) level increased and the activity of L-glutathione (GSH) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) in the chicken liver decreased in Se-deficient group (p < 0.05). Additionally, the mRNA levels of HSPs (27, 40, 60, 70, and 90) increased significantly (p < 0.05) in the Se-deficient group compare to the corresponding control group. Meanwhile, the protein expression of HSPs (60, 70, and 90) also increased significantly (p < 0.05) in the Se-deficient group. These results suggested that oxidative stress and the levels of HSPs expression levels in chicken liver can be influenced by dietary Se deficiency. And HSPs played an important role in the protection of the liver after oxidative stress due to Se deficiency.