The present study investigates the effects of heat stress on the kidney in broilers, based on previous findings which showed that heat stress caused cardiac damage in broilers. Further, the possible renoprotective role of aspirin and the heat shock proteins HSP60 and HSP47 was also investigated. The enzyme levels of urea and uric acid, which are indicators of renal damage, and lactate dehydrogenase, an indicator of oxidative damage, were measured in chickens that were only exposed to heat stress, chickens that were pretreated with aspirin before heat stress, and chickens that were only treated with aspirin. Further, histological examination of renal tissue from the three groups was also performed. Finally, expression of HSP60 and HSP47 was also examined. In the heat stress group, the enzyme measurements were indicative of renal dysfunction and oxidative damage, and the histological findings were indicative of renal ischemia and damage. Aspirin seemed to have a protective effect against the renal damage caused by the stress, based on the enzyme measurements and histopathological findings in the aspirin-treated group. The findings also indicate that aspirin may induce HSP60 and HSP47 expression in renal cells. Finally, the expression patterns of HSP60 and HSP47 indicated that they may play a renoprotective role, as their expression was higher in the aspirin-treated groups. In conclusion, the present findings show that heat stress causes renal damage in poultry and that aspirin may play a protective role against this damage via pathways that involve HSP60 and HSP47.
Keywords: Aspirin; Heat shock proteins; Heat stress; Poultry; Renal dysfunction.