ABSTRACT
1. This study explored the effects of Astragalus membranaceus polysaccharide (APS) on intestinal inflammatory damage of goslings infected with parvovirus (‘gosling plague’).
2. A total of 90 healthy goslings were randomly divided into three groups; control, infected or APS treated, respectively. Goslings in the infection and APS treatment groups were inoculated with 0.3 ml allantoic fluid containing goose parvovirus (ELD50 = 1 × 103/0.3 ml) by intramuscular injection and the control group were injected with saline (0.3 ml) twice a day for 15 days.
3. Blood serum and the jejunum were collected at 5, 10 and 15 days after the start of the experiment to detect the activities of SOD and GSH-Px, levels of MDA, sIgA, IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α, the mRNA expression of IL-1β, IL-6, LITAF, NF-κB, COX-2 and PGE2, pathological damage in the jejunum and serum IgG, IgM, C3, C4, IFN-γ levels.
4. After APS treatment, SOD and GSH-Px activities increased, MDA content decreased; sIgA, IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α protein content, and IL-1β, IL-6, LITAF, NF-κB, COX-2 and PGE2 mRNA expression decreased in the jejunal tissue, serum IgG, IgM, C3, C4, IFN-γ significantly increased and pathological damage of jejunum significantly improved.
5. In conclusion, APS reduced intestinal inflammatory damage in goslings infected with parvovirus by improving the immune and antioxidant functions of goslings.
Acknowledgments
This study has been supported by the National Key R&D Program of China (Project No. 2017YFD0502200).
Disclosure statement
The authors certify that this manuscript has not been published previously, and not under consideration for publication elsewhere, and there is no conflict of interest with any financial organization regarding the material discussed in the manuscript.