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Journal of Integrative Agriculture  2026, Vol. 25 Issue (11): 4698-4710    DOI: 10.1016/j.jia.2025.08.002
Animal Science · Veterinary Medicine Advanced Online Publication | Current Issue | Archive | Adv Search |
Systematic changes in intestinal mucosal barrier function and related aspects of laying hens during the aging process

Qihang Hou1*, Rui Liu1*, Xiaojun Yang1#, Bingkun Zhang2#

1 College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China

2 State Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition and Feeding, College of Animal Science & Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China

 Highlights 
● This study reveals a systematic age-related decline in intestinal barrier integrity in laying hens, characterized by villus shortening, goblet cell loss, increased permeability, and tight junction disruption.
● It identifies regulatory T (Treg)-macrophage immune imbalance as a key driver of intestinal inflammaging, evidenced by decreased Treg-derived IL-10 and elevated macrophage-derived tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α promoting epithelial senescence.
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摘要  

蛋鸡产业作为全球优质蛋白供给的核心支柱,正面临老龄鸡生产性能衰退的严峻挑战,而肠道功能退化是其关键诱因,具体特征在器官和细胞层面表现为微生物群失调、慢性炎症及肠道通透性增加。尽管炎症衰老过程导致的促炎和抗炎反应失衡在人类研究中已被阐明,但其在畜禽(尤其蛋鸡)中的机制研究仍存显著空白。鉴于肠道屏障完整性对营养吸收与免疫稳态的决定性作用,解析蛋鸡衰老过程蛋鸡衰老过程中肠道黏膜屏障功能的系统性变化具有迫切科学价值。本研究采集40、70和100周龄蛋鸡样本进行综合分析,旨在阐明肠道屏障功能变化与年龄的相关性规律,同时评估靶向干预措施恢复肠-免疫稳态及生产性能的潜力,最终建立通过精准肠道健康策略缓解家禽衰老炎症的机制。结果表明:随年龄增长,蛋鸡采食量逐渐降低,蛋品质与生产性能显著下降。更为重要的是,肠道细胞衰老标志物表达水平随着蛋鸡年龄增加而显著增加。衰老过程与黏膜屏障功能受损密切相关,表现为回肠绒毛缩短、杯状细胞数量减少、肠道通透性升高及免疫稳态被破坏。深入机制研究表明:调节性T细胞(Treg)源性白细胞介素IL-10分泌减少,而巨噬细胞源性肿瘤坏死因子TNF-α水平增加并能诱导鸡肠道类器官上皮细胞衰老。值得注意的是,蛋鸡采食量下降和营养缺乏可能是通过阻碍肠道屏障维持和限制免疫调节所需底物,进而破坏肠道屏障完整性并损害免疫稳态,加剧肠功能障碍。本研究不仅阐明蛋鸡肠道黏膜屏障与年龄的相关性变化,并首次揭示了Treg细胞与巨噬细胞稳态即免疫调控在肠道炎症衰老中的核心作用。



Abstract  

Aging leads to diminished gut function, manifesting as gut dysbiosis, chronic inflammation, and increased intestinal permeability at both the organ and cellular levels.  However, few studies have focused on the systematic changes in the intestinal mucosal barrier function of laying hens during the aging process.  Samples were collected from laying hens at the 40th, 70th, and 100th wk of age to assess related indexes.  As laying hens age, their feed intake gradually decreases, and both egg quality and production performance decline.  Notably, expression levels of intestinal cellular senescence markers increased as the age of laying hens increased.  Aging is associated with changes in intestinal mucosal barrier function, such as shortened ileal villi, reduced goblet cell numbers, heightened intestinal permeability, and disrupted immune homeostasis.Further studies showed that regulatory T (Treg) cell-derived interleukin (IL)-10 decreases.  Moreover, macrophage-derived tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α was elevated and promoted senescence in intestinal epithelial cells of chicken organoids.  Critically, declining feed intake likely exacerbates intestinal dysfunction by limiting nutrient availability for barrier maintenance and immune regulation.  This study elucidates age-related alterations in intestinal mucosal barrier function and highlights the role of Treg cell and macrophage homeostasis in intestinal inflammaging in laying hens.

Keywords:  aged laying hens       intestinal mucosal barrier function       inflammation       Treg cell       macrophage  
Received: 12 November 2024   Accepted: 16 July 2025 Online: 05 August 2025  
Fund: 

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (32402782), the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (2024M752644), the National Key R&D Program of China (2022YFE0111100), the 2115 Talent Development Program of China Agricultural University, and the Wujiaqu Science and Technology Bureau, China (2023-2319). 

About author:  Qihang Hou, E-mail: qihanghou1992@nwafu.edu.cn; Rui Liu, E-mail: liurui_57@163.com; #Correspondence Xiaojun Yang, Tel: +86-10-87092937, E-mail: yangxj@nwafu.edu.cn; Bingkun Zhang, Tel: +86-10-62731280, E-mail: bingkunzhang@126.com * These authors contributed equally to this study.

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