Positive impacts of Nannochloropsis oculata supplementation on gene expression of immune and antioxidant markers and metabolic profile of Barki sheep in the transition period and lipogenic effects on progeny

Veterinary Research Communications https://doi.org/10.1007/s11259-024-10392-2 RESEARCH Positive impacts of Nannochloropsis oculata supplementation on gene expression of immune and antioxidant markers and metabolic profile of Barki sheep in the transition period and lipogenic effects on progeny Ahmed El-Sayed1 · Eman Ebissy1 · Ahmed Ateya2 Received: 24 February 2024 / Accepted: 20 April 2024 © The Author(s) 2024 Abstract Nannochloropsis species should be given priority when it comes to microalgae that should be added to feed since they are suitable for intense culture and have a high concentration of PUFAs (especially EPA), antioxidants, and certain vitamins. This study investigated the possible immune and antioxidant impacts of Nannochloropsis supplementation on Barki ewes during transition period and their newly born lambs. Three weeks prior to the expected time of lambing, the researched ewes were divided into two equal groups of thirty ewes each. The second group, on the other hand, was fed the same base diet as the first group plus 10 g of commercially available Nannochloropsis powder per kg of concentrate, given daily to each ewe’s concentrate. Findings revealed that supplementation of ewes with Nannochloropsis significantly upregulated the expression pattern of immune (NFKB, RANTES, HMGB1, TNF-α, IRF4, TLR7, CLA-DRB3.2, IL1B, IL6, CXCL8, S-LZ, and Cathelicidin), and antioxidant (SOD1, CAT, GPX1, GST, ATOX1, Nrf2 and AhpC/TSA) markers in ewes post-lambing and their newly born lambs. Additionally, mRNA levels of lipogenic (ACACA, FASN SCD, LPL, and BTN1A) markers were significantly up-regulated in lambs from supplemented ewes than control ones. There was a significant increase in the WBCs, Hb, RBc count, serum level of glucose, total protein, triacylglycerol and total cholesterol, GPx, catalase, IL1α and IL6 with significantly decreased serum level of TNF-α and MDA in supplemented ewes after lambing as compared with control ones. There was also a significant increase in WBCs, Hb, RBc count, birth weight and body temperature with significantly decreased in the serum levels of TNF-α and stillbirth of newly born lambs from supplemented ewes as compared to other lambs from control ones. Keywords Peripartum · Nannochloropsis oculata · Antioxidants · Immunity Introduction Ruminant researchers have identified the transition period as occurring three-weeks around parturition (Sucupira et al. 2019). Due to increased nutritional needs to combat the foetus’ growth and the first milk’s production during those time, Ahmed Ateya 1 Department of Animal Health and Poultry, Animal and Poultry Production Division, Desert Research Center (DRC), Cairo, Egypt 2 Department of Development of Animal Wealth, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Mansoura University, Mansoura, Egypt significant metabolic and endocrine changes frequently take place (Sucupira et al. 2019). These characteristics may make the animal more susceptible to immunological suppression, the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), and the development of possible illnesses such nutritional, metabolic and viral diseases especially pregnancy toxemia, hypocalcaemia and hypomagnaesemia (Caroprese et al. 2006). This is particularly true in the event of inadequate food intake and/or non-metabolic adaptation to the altered physiological state. According to, (Sucupira et al. 2019) the increased creation of ROS and the demand for endogenous and exogenous antioxidant factors might cause oxidative stress, impair neutrophil activity, antibody responses, and increase cytokine secretion by immune cells. 13 Veterinary Research Communications There are studies that have determined that feeding with algae is a behavior that has existed for many years, especially in species of sheep kept near marine coastlines (EL-Sabagh et al. 2014). Tiny doses of microalgae supplementation exhibited positive effects on animal physiology, productivity, and feed conversion by improving gastrointestinal and immune processes (Camacho et al. 2019). The diverse group of autotrophic and photosynthetic microorganisms known as microalgae possesses a number of special biological traits, such as high photosynthetic energy transfer efficiency and the capacity to synthesize biologically complex substances like lipids, proteins, carbohydrates, pigments, and polymers, (De Morais et al. 2015) have a high content of bioactive compounds, including protein, polysaccharides, (Mohamed 2008) and vitamins such as vitamins A, C, E, K, thiamine (B1), pyridoxine (B6), riboflavin (B2), nicotinic acid, biotin, and tocopherol (Khan 2018) excellent adaptability to various environments and capability of producing a broad variety of bioenergy (Levering et al. 2015). The antioxidant defence system is strengthened by the presence of natural antioxidants found in microalgae, including phenols, flavonoids, carotenoids, and chlorophyll (Ben et al. 2017). In fact, when their diets were supplemented with microalgae, fattening lambs (EL-Sabagh et al. 2014) all showed an improvement in their antioxidant status. An imbalance between the formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and the ability of antioxidant systems to neutralize those ROS can result in oxidative stress in ruminants due to a variety of environmental, physiological, and nutritional factors (Sies 1991). Feedstuffs with high levels of naturally occurring antioxidant compounds may protect animals from oxidative stress and alleviate consumers’ safety concerns. The body frequently uses a range of antioxidant processes, both enzymatic and non-enzymatic (metabolites, for instance), to combat oxidative stress (Ye et al. 2015). Numerous endogenous enzymes, present in both blood and milk, including glutathione reductase (GR), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione transferase (GST), and glutathione peroxidase (GSHPx) (Board and Menon 2013), constitute the primary constituents of the intracellular antioxidant defense mechanisms that govern the accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in tissues (Sordillo 2013). The genus Nannochloropsis has six distinct species, including N. gaditana, N. salina, N. limnetica, N. granulata, N. oceanica, and N. oculata. It is a species of monocellular microalga with a single chloroplast and a polysaccharide cell wall structure (DJ 2008). Numerous studies (both 13 in-vitro and in-vivo) have demonstrated the beneficial effects of N. oculata on palatability, lack of toxicity, easy digestion (N. oculata) (Kholif et al. 2020), antioxidant actions (Chlorella vulgaris) (Elsheikh et al. 2018), immunity (Bule et al. 2018), anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer (N. oculata) (Md et al. 2018) on several animal, additionally to possibility to use as a substitute source of the conventional protein on animals diet. In addition, they serve as a reliable alternate supply of Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, C 20:5 n3) (Becker 2007). Because antioxidants work together to neutralize oxidative offen (...truncated)