Poultry Science (Sep 2024)

Phytic acid alleviates ochratoxin A-induced renal damage in chicks by modulating ferroptosis and the structure of the intestinal microbiota

  • Jingjing Wang,
  • Yueqing Xie,
  • Ting Wu,
  • Yichun Chen,
  • Mingzhen Jiang,
  • Xuhai Li,
  • Yingrong Ye,
  • Ershun Zhou,
  • Zhengtao Yang

Journal volume & issue
Vol. 103, no. 9
p. 104027

Abstract

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ABSTRACT: Phytic acid (PA) is a natural antioxidant with various biological activities, providing protective effects in multiple animals. Ochratoxin A (OTA) is a mold toxin commonly found in feed, which induces multi-organ damage, with kidney being the target organ of its toxicity. This study investigates the protective effects of PA on OTA-induced renal damage and its potential mechanisms in chicks. The results demonstrates that PA treatment restores OTA-induced renal pathological injuries, reverses the diminished activities of antioxidant enzymes, reduces the accumulation of malondialdehyde, and normalizes the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines, which confirms that PA can alleviate OTA-induced renal damage. Further investigations reveal that OTA-induced renal injury accompanied by an increase in tissue iron content and the transcription levels of ferroptosis-related genes (TFR, ACSL4, and HO-1), and a decrease in the levels of SLC7A11 and GPX4. PA treatment reverses all these effects, indicating that PA mitigates OTA-induced renal ferroptosis. Moreover, PA supplementation improves intestinal morphology and mucosal function, corrects OTA-induced changes in the intestinal microbiota. Besides, PA microbiota transplantation alleviates renal inflammation and oxidative stress caused by OTA. In conclusion, PA plays a protective role against renal damage through the regulation of ferroptosis and the intestinal microbiota, possibly providing novel insights into the control and prevention of OTA-related nephrotoxicity.

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