Animals are exposed to various environmental stresses every day, including the stress associated with living in cold temperatures. The aim of this study was to investigate the possible mechanisms of interaction between lipid metabolism and
inflammation induced by cold stress in the livers of chickens. Fifteen-day-old male chicks were randomly allocated into 12 groups (10 chickens per group). After exposure of the chickens to the cold stress,
cholesterol fractionation was used to examine
high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and
low-density lipoprotein (
LDL) concentrations.
Aminotransferase activities were examined with the use of the
aspartate transaminase (AST) and
alanine transaminase (ALT) assay. The
AMP-activated protein kinase alpha-proliferator-activated receptor alpha (AMPKalpha-
PPARalpha) pathway genes (AMPKalpha1, AMPKalpha2,
PPARalpha,
carnitine palmitoyltransferaseI [CPTI],
acetyl-CoA carboxylase [ACC]) and inflammatory
cytokines (
prostaglandin E synthase [PGEs],
inducible nitric oxide synthase [iNOS],
heme oxygenase-1 [HO-1], nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells [
NF-kappaB],
cyclooxygenase-2 [COX-2], and
TNF-alpha-like factor [LITAF]) were also measured. The results showed that during the response to cold stress, serum
LDL and
HDL cholesterol concentrations increased. Histopathologic analyses provided evidence that liver tissues were seriously injured in the chickens exposed to the cold stress. Serum
aminotransferase activities were also increased in the group of animals exposed to the cold stress. Additionally, the expressions of AMPKalpha-
PPARalpha pathway genes and inflammatory
cytokine genes were significantly increased in the animals exposed to cold temperatures. These results suggested that increased
inflammation was a feature associated with a
lipid-metabolism disorder in the livers of chickens exposed to cold stress.