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Simple Summary: Vitamin A is an anti-inflammatory vitamin and essential for the health of humans and animals. Necrotic enteritis is an enteric inflammatory disease in poultry caused by Clostridium perfringens infection. Due to the ban on using antibiotics in feed, necrotic enteritis has caused great economic losses in poultry production. Previous observations indicated that phospholipase C secreted by C. perfringens might interfere with the transformation of vitamin A into retinoic acid via the stimulation of prostaglandin E2 production, which impaired the modulation of vitamin A on immune responses. Therefore, the present study investigated the effects of dietary supplementation with a large dose of vitamin A on the immune responses and vitamin A metabolism in broilers suffering from necrotic enteritis and explored the underlying mechanisms. The results showed that vitamin A supplementation in chicken diets improved hepatic vitamin A deposition and modulated the expression of Th2 cell-related cytokines in the jejunum and spleen. In addition, dietary supplementation with vitamin A inhibited the expression of genes involved in the Janus kinase/signal transducer and activator of the transcription pathway and genes encoding retinoic acid receptors in the spleen of broilers. The present study indicated the modulatory effects of vitamin A supplementation in diets on the immune responses and vitamin A metabolism in necrotic enteritis-challenged broilers. Necrotic enteritis (NE) is an important enteric inflammatory disease of poultry, and the effects of vitamin A (VitA) on NE birds are largely unknown. The present study was conducted to investigate the effects of VitA on the immune responses and VitA metabolism of NE broilers as well as the underlying mechanisms. Using a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement, 336 1-day-old Ross 308 broiler chicks were randomly assigned to 4 groups with 7 replicates. Broilers in the control (Ctrl) group were fed a basal diet without extra VitA supplementation. Broilers in the VitA group were fed a basal diet supplemented with 12,000 IU/kg of VitA. Birds in NE and VitA + NE groups were fed corresponding diets and, in addition, co-infected with Eimeria spp. and Clostridium perfringens on days 14 to 20. Samples of the blood, jejunum, spleen and liver were obtained on day 28 for analysis, and meanwhile, lesion scores were also recorded. The results showed that NE challenge increased lesion score in the jejunum and decreased serum glucose, total glyceride, calcium, phosphorus and uric acid levels (p < 0.05). VitA supplementation reduced the levels of serum phosphorus, uric acid and alkaline phosphatase in NE-challenged birds and increased serum low-density lipoprotein content and the activity of aspartate aminotransferase and creatine kinase (p < 0.05). Compared with the Ctrl group, the VitA and NE groups had higher mRNA expression of interferon-γ in the jejunum (p < 0.05). NE challenge up-regulated mRNA expression of interleukin (IL)-13, transforming growth factor-β4, aldehyde dehydrogenase (RALDH)-2 and RALDH-3 in the jejunum, while VitA supplementation increased jejunal IL-13 mRNA expression and hepatic VitA content, but down-regulated splenic IL-13 mRNA expression (p < 0.05). The VitA + NE group had higher serum prostaglandin E2 levels and the Ctrl group had higher splenic RALDH-3 mRNA expression than that of the other three groups (p < 0.05). NE challenge up-regulated jejunal retinoic acid receptor (RAR)-β and retinoid X receptor (RXR)-α as well as splenic RAR-α and RAR-β mRNA expression (p < 0.05). VitA supplementation up-regulated jejunal RAR-β expression but down-regulated mRNA expression of RXR-α, RXR-γ, signal transducers and activators of transcription (STAT) 5 and STAT6 in the spleen (p < 0.05). Moreover, compared with the Ctrl group, the VitA and NE groups had down-regulated mRNA expression of jejunal and splenic Janus kinase (JAK) 1 (p < 0.05). In conclusion, NE challenge induced jejunal injury and expression of Th2 and Treg cell-related cytokines and enhanced RALDH and RAR/RXR mRNA expression, mainly in the jejunum of broilers. VitA supplementation did not alleviate jejunal injury or Th2 cell-related cytokine expression; however, it improved hepatic VitA deposition and inhibited the expression of RALDH-3, RXR and the JAK/STAT signaling pathway in the spleen of broilers. In short, the present study suggested the modulatory effects of vitamin A on the immune responses and vitamin A metabolism in broiler chickens challenged with necrotic enteritis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Fungal and bacterial fermentation improves the nutritional quality of soybean meal (SBM). The beneficial effects of fermented soybean meal (FSBM) on growth performance and gut health of broiler chickens have been demonstrated. However, FSBM is usually used in pre-starter diets of broiler chickens due to the high cost. In the present study, the SBM in diets was partially replaced by FSBM to evaluate its effect on the growth performance, carcass traits, and meat quality of broiler chickens. The growth performance and major carcass traits were not significantly affected by FSBM treatments. Different levels (2.5%, 5.0%, and 7.5%) of FSBM supplementation influenced the meat color, pH, nutritional composition, and antioxidant properties. The improvement of meat quality would extend the shelf life of meat and increase consumer acceptability to chicken. The 2.5% FSBM was recommended in a broiler diet. The usage of fermented soybean meal (FSBM) in poultry feed is limited due to the high cost. The present study was conducted to examine the carcass traits and meat quality of broiler chickens that were fed diets with partial replacement of soybean meal (SBM) with FSBM. The 336 one-day-old chicks were assigned to four groups with 0% (control), 2.5%, 5.0%, and 7.5% FSBM addition in corn-SBM-based diets. Compared with the control, 2.5% and 5.0% FSBM decreased leg muscle yield, breast drip loss, and cooking loss (p < 0.05). The 7.5% FSBM increased the ultimate pH of breast and thigh muscles, and all FSBM treatments decreased muscle lightness and breast malondialdehyde content (p < 0.05). The 2.5% FSBM increased breast total superoxide dismutase activity, while 7.5% FSBM reduced breast hydrogen peroxide level (p < 0.05). All FSBM treatments elevated breast contents of bitter and sour tasting amino acids, and 2.5% and 7.5% FSBM increased breast glutamic acid and total free amino acids (p < 0.05). The 5.0% and 7.5% FSBM elevated thigh isoleucine and leucine contents (p < 0.05). In conclusion, FSBM replacing SBM affected meat quality with the decrease of lightness and increase of pH, water-holding capacity, antioxidant properties, and free amino acids. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]