Impact of Trace Minerals on Wound Healing of Footpad Dermatitis in Broilers

Sci Rep. 2017 May 15;7(1):1894. doi: 10.1038/s41598-017-02026-2.

Abstract

Footpad dermatitis (FPD) is used in the poultry industry as an animal welfare criterion to determine stocking density. Trace minerals (TM) play a role in skin integrity and wound healing. This study evaluated the impact of TM on FPD and consisted of 3 treatments supplemented with 0 (NTM), low (LTM) and high (HTM) TM levels in the same basal diet. On d21, 71% birds in all treatments developed mild FPD and pens were top-dressed with dry litter to promote FPD healing. Compared to NTM, LTM reduced area under the curve (AUC) of FPD lesion scores during d21-42, HTM reduced the AUC of FPD lesion scores during d7-21 and d21-42. LTM improved growth performance on d14, HTM improved growth performance on d14 and d28. LTM and/or HTM increased gene expression of VEGF, TIMP3, TIMP4, MMP13, ITGA2, ITGA3 and CD40, which promoted collagen synthesis, deposition and organization; cell migration, matrix remodeling, and angiogenesis. LTM and/or HTM increased inflammation by upregulating TNFα and IL-1β during the early wound healing phase and reduced inflammation by downregulating IL-1β during the late wound healing phase. Our findings showed that TM not only improved growth performance but also reduced FPD development by promoting FPD wound healing.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Biomarkers
  • Chickens
  • Cytokines / metabolism
  • Dermatitis / veterinary*
  • Inflammation Mediators / metabolism
  • Male
  • Poultry Diseases / etiology*
  • Poultry Diseases / metabolism
  • Poultry Diseases / pathology*
  • Trace Elements*
  • Wound Healing*

Substances

  • Biomarkers
  • Cytokines
  • Inflammation Mediators
  • Trace Elements