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Further studies on collateral ligaments of knee and intertarsal joints in domestic fowl.

Collateral ligament attachments in distal femora and distal tibiotarsi were examined in broilers on ad libitum and restricted feeding and in laying strain fowls fed ad libitum. Histopathological studies revealed morphological changes in ligaments of ad libitum-fed broilers which were less apparent or absent in other birds examined. One such change was loss of crimp pattern in collagen bundles of ligaments, which suggested that structural derangement had occurred. Chondroid metaplasia and foci of hyaline cartilage were observed in ligaments of ad libitum-fed broilers and may result from tissue ischaemia. Similarities were noted between ligament attachments in broilers and Osgood-Schlatter disease in man; lesions in broilers may well have a similar aetiology. It is concluded that although feed restriction restores some semblance of normality in broiler ligaments, the propensity for abnormality remains and becomes apparent in heavier birds. Such reasoning casts doubt on the wisdom of modern broiler breeding practice where feed restriction can mask genotypic predisposition to clinical disease.

Animal Husbandry↗

Properties of 5-ene-3 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase in granulosa tissue from the domestic fowl (Gallus domesticus).

Microsomal 5-ene-3 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase activity from fowl preovulatory granulosa tissue was solubilised by treatment with 2.0 M KCl. The efficiency of the solubilisation procedure was assessed by measuring the amount of activity remaining in the supernatant after centrifugation at 105,000 g for 8 h. The microsomal activity was resolved into two components: a fraction solubilised by the salt treatment and a fraction remaining membrane bound. The results indicate that the enzyme exists in two different environments within the membrane. The time course for the thermal inactivation of the microsomal enzyme supported this conclusion. The properties of the solubilised enzyme were compared with the untreated microsomal preparation, with respect to steroidal inhibition. Progesterone, 4-androstene-3,17-dione and oestradiol-17 beta all inhibited the enzyme and no difference was observed between the two preparations. The results are discussed in relation to the involvement of 5-ene-3 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase in the control of progesterone production in fowl granulosa tissue.

3-Hydroxysteroid Dehydrogenases↗

Isolated adrenocortical cells of the domestic fowl (Gallus domesticus): steroidogenic and ultrastructural properties.

Isolated adrenocortical cells from White Leghorn chickens (Gallus domesticus) were compared to those from rats (Rattus norvegicus). Cells were prepared from collagenase-dispersed adrenal glands of sexually mature male animals. Corticosterone was measured by radioimmunoassay after incubation for 2 h with steroidogenic agents. Of the four ACTH analogues used, three were 6-17 times more potent with rat cells than with fowl cells (potencies were indicated by half-maximal steroidogenic concentrations). However, 9-tryptophan (O-nitrophenylsulfenyl) ACTH was 8 times more potent with fowl cells than with rat cells, thus suggesting that ACTH receptor differences exist between the two cell types. In addition, cAMP analogues were 10 times more potent with rat cells than with fowl cells suggesting that fowl corticosteroidogenesis is less dependent on cAMP than is rat corticosteroidogenesis. At equal cell concentrations, rat cells secreted 20-40 times more corticosterone than did chicken cells when they were maximally stimulated. Although rat cells converted 8 times more pregnenolone to corticosterone than did fowl cells, the half-maximal steroidogenic concentration for pregnenolone-supported corticosterone synthesis was the same for both cell types (about 5 microM). This suggests that fowl cells have lower steroidogenic enzyme content rather than lower steroidogenic enzyme activity. An unusual feature seen in the isolated fowl adrenocortical cells was an abundance of intracellular filaments.

Adrenal Cortex↗

Renal effects of atrial natriuretic factor in domestic fowl.

The renal hemodynamic and tubular effects of ANF were investigated using the Sperber technique in chickens. This technique takes advantage of the unique portal circulation of the avian kidney and permits direct access to the renal peritubular space independent of renal arterial blood flow and glomerular filtration. Infusion of ANF into the avian renal portal system increased urine flow rate and sodium excretion by as much as 300% and 100%, respectively. These changes occurred in the absence of significant alterations in glomerular filtration rate or renal plasma flow. There was no significant difference in urine flow, sodium excretion or glomerular filtration rate between the ANF-infused kidney and the contralateral, non-infused kidney. We conclude that the diuretic and natriuretic effects of ANF do not depend on changes in glomerular filtration rate and that the site of action of ANF is the renal medulla.

Animals↗

Effect of some serotoninergic agents on the rectal temperature of the domestic fowl (Gallus domesticus).

The information currently available in the literature on the effects of serotonergic drugs on thermoregulation in the avian species is very scanty. Therefore, it was the objective in this project to study the influence of 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT), 5-hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP), benserazide, carbidopa (Mk 486), citalopram, cyproheptadine, methysergide, xylamidine, p-chlorophenylalanine (PCPA) and lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD-25) on the rectal temperature of young chicks. 5-hydroxytryptamine (0.8 mg/kg), produced significant dose-dependent hypothermia in young chicks. Similarly, 5-HTP (16 mg/kg) profoundly lowered the rectal temperature of young chicks. The hypothermic effect of 5-HTP was potentiated by benserazide (1.25-2.5 mg/kg). Pretreatment with carbidopa (50 mg/kg) potentiated 5-HTP induced hypothermia. Citalopram (5 mg/kg) significantly potentiated hypothermia induced by 5-HT. Pretreatment with PCPA (200 mg/kg, 24 hr previously) alone resulted in hyperthermia while the hypothermic effect of 5-HTP (16 mg/kg) was antagonised by pretreatment with PCPA. Cyproheptadine (1.25 mg/kg) antagonised the hypothermic effect of 5-HT (0.1 and 0.8 mg/kg). The antagonistic effect was weak when the chicks were pretreated with larger doses of cyproheptadine (i.e. 2.5-10 mg/kg). The hypothermia induced by 5-HT (0.8 mg/kg) was antagonised by smaller doses of methysergide (0.125-1.0 mg/kg) but potentiated by larger doses of methysergide (2.0 and 4.0 mg/kg). Xylamidine (1-2 mg/kg) alone induced hyperthermia and effectively antagonised hypothermia induced by 5-HT (0.8 mg/kg). D-Lysergic acid diethylamide (2.5-10 micrograms/kg) alone induced hypothermia. The interaction between LSD and 5-HT was dose-dependent and biphasic.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

5-Hydroxytryptophan↗

Periodicity of death feigning by domestic fowl in response to simulated predation.

The presence and extent of periodicity in the manifestation of death feigning duration was assessed in 137 week-old White Leghorn chicks. Chicks were reared on an LD 12:12 regimen with light onset at 0800 hr. Each was tested only once at one of 13 clock hours spanning a 24 hr period. Death feigning duration varied significantly with clock hour of induction, being longest from 1300-1400 hr and briefest from 0600-1100 hr. Variability was also cyclic but was distributed bimodally, being greatest in the latter half of each L and D phase. There was no significant influence of management hour on death feigning duration. The adaptive significance of the periodicity for predator-prey interactions was discussed, as were methodological implications.

Animals↗

Influence of vagotomy in domestic fowls on feeding activity, food passage, digestibility and satiety effects of two peptides.

The effects of bilateral vagotomy at the level of the proventriculus, in immature female fowls (VAG), on body weight, feeding activity parameters, rate of food passage, digestibility, and satiety effects of bombesin (BBS) and cholecystokinin octapeptide (CCK8), were compared with those in sham-operated controls (SHAM). SHAM birds gained weight at a greater rate postoperatively than before their operation, whereas VAG birds did not. Daily food intake did not change significantly as a result of the operation with either SHAM or VAG birds, and the only effect on feeding activity parameters was on the length of intermeal intervals, which increased in VAG birds. Rate of passage of the layers' mash diet was slower, and its apparent digestibility lower, in VAG than in SHAM birds. Short-term suppression of food intake, following intravenous injections of BBS (10 micrograms/kg) or CCK8 (10 micrograms/kg), did not differ between SHAM and VAG birds. The different postoperative weight gains may have been a consequence of different weights of food digested, and the difference in interval length was probably due to the different rates of food passage. The results of these experiments indicate that efferent information affecting rate of passage and digestibility travels via the vagus, but that afferent information concerned with initiation and termination of meals, and with satiety effects of BBS and CCK8, does not. Instead, such afferent information may travel via the intestinal nerve, which is unique to birds.

Animals↗

Food intake in the domestic fowl: effect of intrahepatic lipid and amino acid infusions.

Five experiments were conducted to determine the effect of hepatic and jugular infusions of amino acid and lipid solutions on short-term food intake of cockerels. Neither jugular nor hepatic infusions of amino acids had any effect on food intake of Single-Comb White Leghorn (SCWL) cockerels. Lipid infusions had no effect on SCWL cockerels when administered intrajugularly but decreased food intake significantly when infused intrahepatically. In contrast, no effect on food intake was observed when Rock-Cornish (RC) cockerels were infused intrahepatically with lipid. Thus, it appears that the liver of the SCWL cockerel is not responsive to plasma amino acid concentrations but is sensitive to circulating lipid levels. This lipid sensitive mechanism may be important in the peripheral control of food intake in a chicken such as the SCWL which has been bred for egg production but may be desensitized in fowl such as the RC broiler which has been selected for large body size and feed consumption.

Amino Acids↗

A role for the liver in the effects of glucagon on food intake in domestic fowl.

Adolescent cockerels of an egg-laying strain were prepared with catheters into the hepatic portal vein (HPV) and offered a standard poultry ration ad lib. Injection of 10, 100 and 1000 micrograms of bovine glucagon into the HPV caused a depression in intake which was significantly different from the control from 60 to 90 minutes after injection and was related to the logarithm of the dose. In birds prepared with HPV and jugular vein catheters, 1000 micrograms of glucagon had a similar depressing effect on intake irrespective of route of administration. In cockerels vagotomised at the level of the proventriculus, doses of glucagon up to 1000 micrograms injected into the HPV had no significant effect on intake. When vagotomised and sham-operated birds, in direct comparison, were injected with 0, 5 and 50 micrograms glucagon, there was s significant depression with both doses in the sham-operated cockerels but no effect in those which were vagotomised. However, the vagotomised birds had low control food intakes and the data obtained from them must be interpreted with caution. The conclusion is drawn that glucagon affects liver metabolism to influence the information transmitted via the vagus nerves to the central nervous system circuits involved in the control of feeding.

Animals↗

Tonic immobility and heterophil/lymphocyte responses of the domestic fowl to corticosterone infusion.

The tonic immobility (TI) fear reactions, plasma corticosterone concentrations and heterophil/lymphocyte (H/L) ratios of adults laying hens were measured before and at intervals of 4 and 11 days after the subcutaneous implantation of osmotic minipumps delivering either corticosterone solution (15 micrograms/hr) or only polyethylene glycol vehicle. The dummy pumps exerted no apparent behavioral or endocrine effects, whereas tonic immobility was significantly prolonged and circulating corticosterone concentrations significantly elevated at 4 and 11 days after implantation of the corticosterone minipumps. H/L ratios were significantly elevated from pre-treatment levels in both groups. However, H/L ratios were considerably higher at both post-treatment points among birds receiving corticosterone rather than vehicle. The present findings suggest that chronic elevations of plasma corticosterone not only alter the haematological profile but may also predispose birds to react more fearfully to alarming stimulation.

Animals↗

Preloads of water, but not isotonic saline, reduce drinking in domestic fowls.

Fowls were deprived of water for 2 or 6 hr, and then given graded intravenous (IV) injections of water or isotonic saline. With both levels of deprivation, water preloads caused dose-dependent reductions in water intake which matched closely the volumes of preload given, whereas isotonic saline preloads had no effect on drinking, and feeding was unaffected in both cases. These results imply that drinking elicited by short periods of water deprivation is a response to increased plasma osmolality rather than to a loss of extracellular fluid volume. In further experiments, water intakes were reduced by at least as much as the volume administered when undeprived fowls were given 6 hr continuous IV infusions or IV injections of water, and food intakes were also suppressed. Plasma analyses taken at the end of continuous infusions of water indicated a fall in osmolality during this time. It was concluded that whereas increases in plasma osmolality increase drinking in fowls, a fall in osmolality below normal inhibits both drinking and feeding. It is suggested that spontaneous drinking may be regulated mainly by changes in plasma osmolality, rather than in extracellular volume.

Animals↗

Intravenous hypertonic saline injections and drinking in domestic fowls.

Fowls were given intravenous (IV) injections of hypertonic solutions of NaCl, and subsequent water intakes were recorded. All concentrations of hypertonic NaCl increased drinking in the 90 min after injection, compared with control treatments. Increments in drinking in this time agreed closely with calculated amounts required to restore normal osmolality. In further experiments, delaying access to water by periods of 60-360 min after injection failed to reduce drinking elicited by hypertonic NaCl. Injections of 2.0 M NaCl caused increases in plasma osmolality and sodium concentration which were maintained throughout 360 min water deprivation, and caused prolonged reductions in hematocrit and plasma protein concentrations. These results demonstrate that cellular dehydration is a potent thirst stimulus in fowls, and imply that fowls do not reduce hyperosmolality by excretion of salt when water is unavailable.

Animals↗

Chronic stressors, tonic immobility and leucocytic responses in the domestic fowl.

Tonic immobility (TI) fear reactions and heterophil/lymphocyte (H/L) ratios were measured in individually caged Brown Leghorn pullets before and after their exposure to one of three procedures lasting approximately 72 hr. These were: ad lib feeding (controls), fasting (removal of food) or frustration of feeding (fasting plus denial of access to visible food). H/L ratios were elevated after fasting or frustration, illustrating the stressful nature of these procedures, but remained unaltered in the controls. Pretreatment TI responses were similar in all groups. Susceptibility and response duration were reduced upon retesting presumably through habituation, but this effect was relatively homogeneous across groups. Any direct effect of fasting/frustration upon fearfulness seemed unlikely because the mean TI responses of control and stressed birds were similar. However, whereas a rank order based on TI durations was repeatable upon retesting in the controls, it was destabilised in the stressed groups. Positive intraindividual correlations were found between pretreatment TI durations and subsequent H/L responses to fasting/frustration. This suggests that leucocytic responses to chronic stressors may be greater in fearful pullets than in less fearful birds.

Animals↗

Dose and temporal parameters of morphine-induced hyperalgesia in domestic fowl.

Recent research in this laboratory has identified a biological model in which morphine produced a hyperalgesic response to a noxious thermal stimulus. Morphine effects, however, were examined at only one injection-to-test interval (10 min). Because a single injection-to-test interval is relatively uninformative, the present research was designed to more fully characterize this morphine hyperalgesic effect. In Experiment 1, 15-day-old White Leghorn cockerels were placed on a hot plate (59 degrees C) in 10 min after injection of morphine (1.25, 2.5, 5.0, 10.0 mg/ml/kg) or the distilled water vehicle (1 ml/kg). Latency to perform a jump response or attainment of a 90-sec no-jump criterion were recorded. Experiment 2 examined morphine effects (2.5 mg/ml/kg) on hot plate jump latencies at various injection-to-test intervals (10, 30, 60, and 240 min). Morphine produced a dose-dependent hyperalgesic response. Temporal characteristics of morphine effects were evident as a U-shaped function. The dose and temporal characteristics of morphine-induced hyperalgesia in White Leghorn cockerels are similar to the dose and temporal characteristics of morphine-induced analgesia typically seen in other species.

Animals↗

Differential effects of handling on isolation-induced vocalizations, hypoalgesia, and hyperthermia in domestic fowl.

The effects of handling and subsequent brief isolation on vocalizations, thermal nociception, and thermoregulation were examined in 7-day-old cockerels. In Experiment 1, fifteen min of isolation elicited more vocalizations in handled than nonhandled chicks. Nonhandled chicks exhibited longer response latencies than handled chicks. In general, isolated chicks exhibited longer jump response latencies (i.e., hypoalgesia) on hot-plate tests than chicks tested immediately upon removal from the brooder. Compared to handled chicks tested immediately, all other groups exhibited increased core body temperatures. Experiment 2 examined these handling and isolation effects after 15 min of isolation with or without conspecifics. Chicks isolated alone vocalized more than chicks isolated with conspecifics. As in Experiment 1, handled chicks vocalized more than nonhandled chicks. Nonhandled chicks exhibited longer response latencies than handled chicks on hot-plate tests. Isolation-induced hypoalgesia was observed only in handled chicks that were isolated without conspecifics. Core body temperatures were highest in chicks isolates without conspecifics. Additionally, chicks isolated with conspecifics exhibited higher core body temperature than chicks tested immediately. Decreased core body temperature due to handling exposure was observed only in chicks tested immediately. These results demonstrate that isolation effects on vocalizations and nociception are primarily due to social isolation and that isolation effects on thermoregulation are a result of both social and environmental factors. Moreover, the increase in isolation-induced vocalizations in handled animals does not correlate well with the decrease in isolation-induced hypoalgesia and hyperthermia displayed by handled animals.

Animals↗