Taurine Prevents Liver Injury by Reducing Oxidative Stress and Cytochrome C-Mediated Apoptosis in Broilers Under Low Temperature

Hypoxia caused by low ambient temperature leads to hypoxemia in broilers, which aggravates the metabolic burden of the liver. Liver damage is closely related to oxidative stress and apoptosis. It has been proved that taurine can reduce oxygen free radicals, exert antioxidant properties, and inhibit mitochondria-dependent apoptosis. This experiment aimed to determine whether taurine could prevent liver damage by inhibiting oxidative stress and the cytochrome c-mediated apoptotic pathway in broilers under low ambient temperature. Broilers were given 1% taurine in drinking water, and the temperature was raised at 10 °C ~ 12 °C from 21 to 42 days. At 28 and 42 days, the hepatic tissues were collected. The antioxidant capacity of liver tissues and mRNA expression levels of the factors related with cytochrome c-medicated apoptosis pathway were measured. The results showed taurine significantly increased the total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) at 28 days. Furthermore, taurine also increased the activities of glutathione peroxidase (GSH-PX) while reducing malondialdehyde (MDA) concentration at 28 days and 42 days. Our results also revealed that taurine significantly increased the mRNA expression levels of Hsp 27 and Hsp 90 while decreasing caspase-3 mRNA expression in broiler hepatocytes at 28 days. In addition, taurine also upregulated the expression level of Bcl-2 at 42 days. In summary, the present study found that taurine enhances the antioxidant ability and alleviates cytochrome c-mediated apoptosis in hepatic tissue of broilers under low temperature.