Protective Effects of Zinc on Salmonella Invasion, Intestinal Morphology and Immune Response of Young Pigeons Infected with Salmonella enterica Serovar Typhimurium

The study aimed to determine the effects of orally supplemental zinc on body weight, Salmonella invasion, serum IgA, intestinal histomorphology, and immune response of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium ( S . typhimurium )–challenged young pigeons. A total of 72 healthy White King pigeons (25 days old) with similar weight were randomly assigned to 3 treatments with six replicate cages. The 3 treatments were unchallenged, S. typhimurium –challenged, and S. typhimurium –challenged orally supplemented with 1 mg zinc per bird. Salmonella infection decreased ( P < 0.05) the body weight, the bursa index, the serum IgA content, and the villus height/crypt depth ratio in the ileum, but increased the neutrophil proportion ( P < 0.001) and the mRNA expressions of IL-1β and IL-8 in the jejunum ( P < 0.05). Orally supplemental zinc reduced ( P = 0.007) the bacterial load in the liver and improved ( P < 0.05) the body weight, the bursa index, the serum IgA content, the villus height/crypt depth ratio, and the NOD-like receptor family pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3) protein expression, as well as tended to increase ( P = 0.064) the protein abundance of caspase-1 of the jejunum, but did not alleviate the high level of neutrophil proportion and IL-1β mRNA expression of the jejunum ( P > 0.05). The results indicated that oral zinc supplementation improved the intestinal mucosal morphology and enhanced the immune response, as well as activated caspase-1-dependent cell pyroptosis pathways in the jejunal epithelium, thereby restricting Salmonella invasion of the challenged young pigeons.