Zinc alleviates the heat stress of primary cultured hepatocytes of broiler embryos via enhancing the antioxidant ability and attenuating the heat shock responses

Zinc (Zn) has been shown to attenuate the adverse effects of heat stress on broilers, but the mechanisms involving this process remain unclear. We aimed to investigate possible protective mechanisms of Zn on primary cultured hepatocytes of broiler embryos subjected to heat stress. Three experiments were conducted. In Exp. 1, hepatocytes were treated with 0, 50, 100, 200, or 400 μmol/L added Zn as inorganic Zn sulfate (iZn) for 12, 24 or 48 h. In Exp. 2, cells were exposed to 40 °C (a normal temperature [NT]) and 44 °C (a high temperature [HT]) for 1, 2, 4, 6, or 8 h. In Exp. 3, cells were preincubated with 0 or 50 μmol/L Zn as iZn or organic Zn lysine chelate (oZn) for 8 h under NT, and then incubated with the same Zn treatments under NT or HT for 4 or 6 h. The biomarkers of antioxidative status and heat stress in cells were measured. The results in Exp. 1 indicated that 50 μmol/L Zn and 12 h incubation were the optimal conditions for increasing antioxidant ability of hepatocytes. In Exp. 2, the 4 or 6 h incubation under HT was effective in inducing heat shock responses of hepatocytes. In Exp. 3, HT elevated (P < 0.01) malondialdehyde content and expressions of heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) mRNA and protein, as well as HSP90 mRNA. However, Zn supplementation increased (P < 0.05) copper zinc superoxide dismutase (CuZnSOD) activity and metallothionein mRNA expression, and effectively decreased (P < 0.05) the expressions of HSP70 mRNA and protein, as well as HSP90 mRNA. Furthermore, oZn was more effective (P < 0.05) than iZn in enhancing CuZnSOD activity of hepatocytes under HT. It was concluded that Zn (especially oZn) could alleviate heat stress of broiler hepatocytes via enhancing their antioxidant ability and attenuating heat shock responses.