Vitamin E Supplementation Ameliorates Newcastle Disease Virus-Induced Oxidative Stress and Alleviates Tissue Damage in the Brains of Chickens

Newcastle disease (ND), characterized by visceral, respiratory, and neurological pathologies, causes heavy economic loss in the poultry industry around the globe. While significant advances have been made in effective diagnosis and vaccine development, molecular mechanisms of ND virus (NDV)-induced neuropathologies remain elusive. In this study, we report the magnitude of oxidative stress and histopathological changes induced by the virulent NDV (ZJ1 strain) and assess the impact of vitamin E in alleviating these pathologies. Comparative profiling of plasma and brains from mock and NDV-infected chicken demonstrated alterations in several oxidative stress makers such as nitric oxide, glutathione, malondialdehyde, total antioxidant capacity, glutathione S-transferase, superoxide dismutase, and catalases. While decreased levels of glutathione and total antioxidant capacity and increased concentrations of malondialdehyde and nitric oxide were observed in NDV-challenged birds at all time points, these alterations were eminent at latter time points (5 days post infection). Additionally, significant decreases in the activities of glutathione S-transferase, superoxide dismutase, and catalase were observed in the plasma and brains collected from NDV-infected chickens. Intriguingly, we observed that supplementation of vitamin E can significantly reduce the alteration of oxidative stress parameters. Under NDV infection, extensive histopathological alterations were observed in chicken brain including neural inflammation, capillary hyperemia, necrosis, and loss of prominent axons, which were reduced with the treatment of vitamin E. Taken together, our findings highlight that neurotropic NDV induces extensive tissue damage in the brain and alters plasma oxidative stress profiles. These findings also demonstrate that supplementing vitamin E ameliorates these pathologies in chickens and proposes its supplementation for NDV-induced stresses.