Promising Role of Growth Hormone-Boosting Peptide in Regulating the Expression of Muscle-Specific Genes and Related MicroRNAs in Broiler Chickens

Doaa Ibrahim; Hanan S Al-Khalaifah; Ahmed Abdelfattah-Hassan; Haitham Eldoumani; Safaa I Khater; Ahmed H Arisha; Sally A M Mohamed; Tamer Ahmed Ismail; Samar A Tolba

doi:10.3390/ani11071906

Promising Role of Growth Hormone-Boosting Peptide in Regulating the Expression of Muscle-Specific Genes and Related MicroRNAs in Broiler Chickens

Animals (Basel). 2021 Jun 26;11(7):1906. doi: 10.3390/ani11071906.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Nutrition and Clinical Nutrition, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Zagazig University, Zagazig 44511, Egypt.
² Environment and Life Sciences Research Center, Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research, P.O. Box 24885, Safat 13109, Kuwait.
³ Department of Anatomy and Embryology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Zagazig University, Zagazig 44511, Egypt.
⁴ Biomedical Sciences Program, University of Science and Technology, Zewail City of Science and Technology, October Gardens, 6th of October, Giza 12578, Egypt.
⁵ Department of Anatomy and Embryology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Mansoura University, Mansoura 35516, Egypt.
⁶ Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Zagazig University, Zagazig 44511, Egypt.
⁷ Department of Physiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Zagazig University, Zagazig 44511, Egypt.
⁸ Department of Animal Physiology and Biochemistry, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Badr University in Cairo (BUC), Badr City 11829, Egypt.
⁹ Department of Histology and Cytology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Zagazig University, Zagazig 44511, Egypt.
¹⁰ Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, Turabah University College, Taif University, P.O. Box 11099, Taif 21944, Saudi Arabia.

Abstract

Appropriate skeletal muscle development in poultry is positively related to increasing its meat production. Synthetic peptides with growth hormone-boosting properties can intensify the effects of endogenous growth hormones. However, their effects on the mRNA and miRNA expression profiles that control muscle development post-hatching in broiler chicks is unclear. Thus, we evaluated the possible effects of synthetic growth hormone-boosting peptide (GHBP) inclusion on a chicken's growth rate, skeletal muscle development-related genes and myomiRs, serum biochemical parameters, and myofiber characteristics. A total of 400 one-day-old broiler chicks were divided into four groups supplied with GHBP at the levels of 0, 100, 200 and 300 μg/kg for 7 days post-hatching. The results showed that the highest levels of serum IGF-1 and GH at d 20 and d 38 post-hatching were found in the 200 μg/kg GHBP group. Targeted gene expression analysis in skeletal muscle revealed that the GHBP effect was more prominent at d 20 post-hatching. The maximum muscle development in the 200 μg/kg GHBP group was fostered by the upregulation of IGF-1, mTOR, myoD, and myogenin and the downregulation of myostatin and the Pax-3 and -7 genes compared to the control group. In parallel, muscle-specific myomiR analysis described upregulation of miR-27b and miR-499 and down-regulation of miR-1a, miR-133a, miR-133b, and miR-206 in both the 200 and 300 μg/kg GHBP groups. This was reflected in the weight gain of birds, which was increased by 17.3 and 11.2% in the 200 and 300 μg/kg GHBP groups, respectively, when compared with the control group. Moreover, the maximum improvement in the feed conversion ratio was achieved in the 200 μg/kg GHBP group. The myogenic effects of GHBP were also confirmed via studying myofiber characteristics, wherein the largest myofiber sizes and areas were achieved in the 200 μg/kg GHBP group. Overall, our findings indicated that administration of 200 μg/kg GHBP for broiler chicks could accelerate their muscle development by positively regulating muscle-specific mRNA and myomiR expression and reinforcing myofiber growth.

Keywords: broiler; gene expression; muscle development; myomiR; synthetic peptide.