Distribution and Morphology of Ghrelin-Immunopositive Cells in the Thymus of the African Ostrich

Wang, Jiaxiang; Li, Peng; Zhang, Xiaoting; Ye, Li-xun

doi:10.4067/s0717-95022017000200026

Cited by 3 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 11 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Since the structure and the function are closely related, the microstructure of different aged thymuses was explored by HE staining that showed a downtrend, except for a small increase at the 3 rd week, with significant alterations in ratio of the cortex to medulla. Similar changes in the aging thymus were also previously reported in rats [41–43], African ostrich chicks [44, 45], and cynomolgus macaques [46, 47]. In addition, we also found an accumulation of adipose tissue while aging.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

RNA-Seq-Based Gene Expression Pattern and Morphological Alterations in Chick Thymus during Postnatal Development

Xue

Ansari

Zhao

et al. 2019

International Journal of Genomics

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The thymus is a lobulated unique lymphoid immune organ that plays a critical role in the selection, development, proliferation, and differentiation of T cells. The thymus of developing chickens undergoes continued morphological alterations; however, the biomolecular and transcriptional dynamics of the postnatal thymus in avian species is not clear yet. Therefore, the thymuses from chickens at different stages of development (at weeks 0, 1, 5, 9, 18, and 27) were used in the present study. The RNA-seq method was used to study the gene expression patterns. On average, 24120819 clean reads were mapped, differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified on the basis of log values (fold change), including 744 upregulated and 425 downregulated genes. The expression pattern revealed by RNA-seq was validated by quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) analysis of four important genes, which are PCNA, CCNA2, CCNB2, and CDK1. Thus, the current study revealed that during postnatal development, the thymus undergoes severe atrophy. Thymus structure was damaged and gene expression changed dramatically, especially at the 27th week of age. Moreover, we found significant changes of several signaling pathways such as the cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction and cell cycle signaling pathways. Hence, it may be inferred that those signaling pathways might be closely related to the postnatal chicken thymus development.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

RNA-Seq-Based Gene Expression Pattern and Morphological Alterations in Chick Thymus during Postnatal Development

Xue

Ansari

Zhao

et al. 2019

International Journal of Genomics

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…A large number of studies have confirmed the inference that the wide distribution of ghrelin immunopositive cells in animals may have many biological roles (Cardona et al 2012). Ghrelin immunopositive cells are widely distributed in the African ostrich (Wang et al 2017a;Wang et al 2017b;Ye et al 2018;Zhang et al 2018), Wang et al (2009) showed that ghrelin immunopositive cells are mainly distributed in the mucosal layer of the gastrointestinal tract of the African ostrich chicks and the number of immunopositive cells gradually decreases from the stomach to the small intestine and then to the large intestine. The number of ghrelin immunopositive cells in the small intestine also showed significant age-related changes, peaked at 90 days and then remained stable.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 89%

Effects of Exogenous Ghrelin on Duodenal Growth and Development of African Ostrich Chicks

Li¹,

Wang²,

Pi³

et al. 2021

IJAR

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: The African ostrich is the largest herbivorous bird in the world, which has high economic value. However, the brooding period of African ostrich is long. During this period, the various organs of the body are not fully developed, the resistance is low and it is easy to get sick, thus affecting the growth and development. Therefore, it is of great significance to enhance the digestion and absorption capacity of ostrich chicks and improve its growth speed in shortening the incubation period of ostrich, improving the survival rate of ostrich and the economic benefits of ostrich breeding. Methods: Sixteen 40-day-old African ostrich chicks (male or female) were randomly divided into four groups and injected intravenously of Metatarsal vein with saline (control) or ghrelin (10, 50 and 100 µg/kg) for 6 days. The morphology, gastrin and pepsin levels in the duodenum were measured using stereology, HE staining and radioimmunoassay. Result: The 10, 50 and 100 µg/kg of ghrelin administered groups showed lower duodenal length and length index than the control group (P less than 0.05). Villus length increased in the 50 µg/kg and 100 µg/kg ghrelin administered groups (P less than 0.05). Crypt depth decreased in the 10 µg/kg ghrelin administered group (P less than 0.05). The ratio of villus length to crypt depth in each group increased and the difference was significant in the 50 µg/kg and 100 µg/kg ghrelin administered groups (P less than 0.05). Pepsin content in the duodenum slightly increased in the 10 µg/kg ghrelin administered group (P greater than 0.05) and it significantly decreased in the 50 µg/kg and 100 µg/kg ghrelin administered groups (P less than 0.05). Gastrin content in the duodenum increased significantly (P less than 0.05) in the 10 µg/kg ghrelin administered group and decreased in the 100 µg/kg ghrelin administered group (P less than 0.05).

show abstract

“…Ghrelin can regulate feeding and energy balance (Klok et al, 2007), promotes growth hormone release (Kojima et al), regulates cell proliferation, participates in immune antiinflammatory activities, and improves cardiovascular function. Studies have shown that ghrelin-immunopositive cells are widely distributed in African ostrich chicks (Ye et al, 2017;Wang et al, 2017a). Wang et al (2017b) reported that ghrelin-immunopositive cells are also found in the pancreas of African ostrich chicks; during the 1-90-day brooding period, the number of ghrelin-immunopositive cells decreased gradually with increasing age, which suggests that ghrelin acts as a signal that can influence developmental processes in the pancreas of African ostrich chicks.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Exogenous Ghrelin on the Tissue Structure and Somato-Statin Secretion in the Pancreas of African Ostrich Chicks

Wang

et al. 2021

Int. J. Morphol.

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This study aimed to investigate the effect of exogenous ghrelin on pancreatic growth and development in African ostrich chicks. Sixteen 40-day-old African ostrich chicks (male or female) were randomly divided into four groups and injected intravenously metatarsal vein with saline (control) or ghrelin (10, 50, and 100 µg/kg) for 6 days. Body and pancreas weight were determined, structural characteristics were observed using HE staining, somatostatin-immunopositive cells were detected using immunohistochemistry. The results were as follows: 1. The 50 and 100 µg/kg groups showed lower relative pancreas weight than the control group (P < 0.05). 2.The islet area per unit area of the pancreas was higher in the 10, 50, and 100 µg/kg groups than in the control group (P < 0.05). The number of islets per unit area of the pancreas was lower in the 10 µg/kg group than in the control (P < 0.05) and slightly higher in the 50 and 100 µg/kg groups than in the control (P > 0.05. Moreover, compared with the control, the islet cells in treatment groups were loosely arranged and showed reduced cytoplasm. In the exocrine pancreas, the volume of acinar cells in the 10, 50, and 100 µg/kg groups all decreased to varying degrees. 3. Somatostatin immunopositive cells were mainly located around the periphery of the islets and sporadically distributed in the center. The density of the somatostatin immunopositive cells in the 10, 50, and 100 µg/kg groups was higher than that in the control (P < 0.05). These findings suggest that exogenous ghrelin increases the area and number of islets and number of somatostatin immunopositive cells but reduces relative pancreas weight and effects the morphological and structural development of the pancreas, which may inhibit the pancreatic growth and development in African ostrich chicks.

show abstract

Distribution and Morphology of Ghrelin-Immunopositive Cells in the Thymus of the African Ostrich

Cited by 3 publications

References 11 publications

RNA-Seq-Based Gene Expression Pattern and Morphological Alterations in Chick Thymus during Postnatal Development

RNA-Seq-Based Gene Expression Pattern and Morphological Alterations in Chick Thymus during Postnatal Development

Effects of Exogenous Ghrelin on Duodenal Growth and Development of African Ostrich Chicks

Effects of Exogenous Ghrelin on the Tissue Structure and Somato-Statin Secretion in the Pancreas of African Ostrich Chicks

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About