The characterization of uterine calcium transport and metabolism during eggshell calcification of hens laying high or low breaking strength eggshell

This study investigated the differences of calcium transport-related proteins and metabolites in the uterus of hens with different breaking strength eggshell during the eggshell calcification. A total of 200 Hy-Line Brown laying hens, aged 75 weeks, were selected and categorized into two groups base...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Ying-ying Yang, Dong Dai, Hai-jun Zhang, Shu-geng Wu, Guang-hai Qi, Jing Wang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-06-01
Series:Poultry Science
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0032579125003505
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849471547535785984
author Ying-ying Yang
Dong Dai
Hai-jun Zhang
Shu-geng Wu
Guang-hai Qi
Jing Wang
author_facet Ying-ying Yang
Dong Dai
Hai-jun Zhang
Shu-geng Wu
Guang-hai Qi
Jing Wang
author_sort Ying-ying Yang
collection DOAJ
description This study investigated the differences of calcium transport-related proteins and metabolites in the uterus of hens with different breaking strength eggshell during the eggshell calcification. A total of 200 Hy-Line Brown laying hens, aged 75 weeks, were selected and categorized into two groups based on the eggshell breaking strength: a high-strength group (HS, > 42 N) and a low-strength group (LS, < 32 N). Laying hens were sampled at 1 h, 7 h (the initiation stage of eggshell calcification), and 17 h (the growth stage of eggshell calcification) post-oviposition (PO). The LS group showed a decreased thickness, weight and weight ratio of eggshells, accompanied with ultrastructural deterioration and total Ca reduction. The expression levels of ATP2A3, ATP2B2, SLC8A1, and SLC8A3 were significantly increased in the HS at 17 h PO when compared to 1 h and 7 h PO, while no significant changes were observed in the LS. At 7 h PO, the LS group had lower uterine mucosa calcium levels, higher TRPV6 protein expression, and lower CALB1 protein expression. In the HS group, uterine metabolites showed a significant increase in glutathione, citrulline, and proline at 7 h PO, whereas, at 17 h PO, the tricarboxylic acid cycle pathway was significantly enriched. These findings suggest that uterine calcium transport activity is relatively subdued during the initiation stage of eggshell calcification, focusing on redox repair activities to maintain homeostasis for mammillary knobs formation. Subsequently, uterine calcium transport activity becomes highly active during the growth stage of eggshell calcification, primarily supporting rapid calcium transport through enhanced energy metabolism. In aged laying hens, the lower eggshell breaking strength may be attributed to decreased calcium levels during the initiation stage and imbalanced redox during the growth stage, which could affect calcium transport and lead to a weak ultrastructure during the calcification period.
format Article
id doaj-art-b261b248f2f44226bca93910d88e9d90
institution Kabale University
issn 0032-5791
language English
publishDate 2025-06-01
publisher Elsevier
record_format Article
series Poultry Science
spelling doaj-art-b261b248f2f44226bca93910d88e9d902025-08-20T03:24:47ZengElsevierPoultry Science0032-57912025-06-01104610511110.1016/j.psj.2025.105111The characterization of uterine calcium transport and metabolism during eggshell calcification of hens laying high or low breaking strength eggshellYing-ying Yang0Dong Dai1Hai-jun Zhang2Shu-geng Wu3Guang-hai Qi4Jing Wang5Laboratory of Quality &amp; Safety Risk Assessment for Animal Products on Feed Hazards (Beijing) of the Ministry of Agriculture &amp; Rural Affairs, Institute of Feed Research, Chinese Academy of Agriculture Sciences, Beijing 100081, PR ChinaLaboratory of Quality &amp; Safety Risk Assessment for Animal Products on Feed Hazards (Beijing) of the Ministry of Agriculture &amp; Rural Affairs, Institute of Feed Research, Chinese Academy of Agriculture Sciences, Beijing 100081, PR ChinaLaboratory of Quality &amp; Safety Risk Assessment for Animal Products on Feed Hazards (Beijing) of the Ministry of Agriculture &amp; Rural Affairs, Institute of Feed Research, Chinese Academy of Agriculture Sciences, Beijing 100081, PR ChinaLaboratory of Quality &amp; Safety Risk Assessment for Animal Products on Feed Hazards (Beijing) of the Ministry of Agriculture &amp; Rural Affairs, Institute of Feed Research, Chinese Academy of Agriculture Sciences, Beijing 100081, PR ChinaLaboratory of Quality &amp; Safety Risk Assessment for Animal Products on Feed Hazards (Beijing) of the Ministry of Agriculture &amp; Rural Affairs, Institute of Feed Research, Chinese Academy of Agriculture Sciences, Beijing 100081, PR ChinaCorresponding author at: Institute of Feed Research, Chinese Academy of Agriculture Sciences, Beijing 100081, PR China.; Laboratory of Quality &amp; Safety Risk Assessment for Animal Products on Feed Hazards (Beijing) of the Ministry of Agriculture &amp; Rural Affairs, Institute of Feed Research, Chinese Academy of Agriculture Sciences, Beijing 100081, PR ChinaThis study investigated the differences of calcium transport-related proteins and metabolites in the uterus of hens with different breaking strength eggshell during the eggshell calcification. A total of 200 Hy-Line Brown laying hens, aged 75 weeks, were selected and categorized into two groups based on the eggshell breaking strength: a high-strength group (HS, > 42 N) and a low-strength group (LS, < 32 N). Laying hens were sampled at 1 h, 7 h (the initiation stage of eggshell calcification), and 17 h (the growth stage of eggshell calcification) post-oviposition (PO). The LS group showed a decreased thickness, weight and weight ratio of eggshells, accompanied with ultrastructural deterioration and total Ca reduction. The expression levels of ATP2A3, ATP2B2, SLC8A1, and SLC8A3 were significantly increased in the HS at 17 h PO when compared to 1 h and 7 h PO, while no significant changes were observed in the LS. At 7 h PO, the LS group had lower uterine mucosa calcium levels, higher TRPV6 protein expression, and lower CALB1 protein expression. In the HS group, uterine metabolites showed a significant increase in glutathione, citrulline, and proline at 7 h PO, whereas, at 17 h PO, the tricarboxylic acid cycle pathway was significantly enriched. These findings suggest that uterine calcium transport activity is relatively subdued during the initiation stage of eggshell calcification, focusing on redox repair activities to maintain homeostasis for mammillary knobs formation. Subsequently, uterine calcium transport activity becomes highly active during the growth stage of eggshell calcification, primarily supporting rapid calcium transport through enhanced energy metabolism. In aged laying hens, the lower eggshell breaking strength may be attributed to decreased calcium levels during the initiation stage and imbalanced redox during the growth stage, which could affect calcium transport and lead to a weak ultrastructure during the calcification period.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0032579125003505Calcium transportEggshell calcification stageEggshell qualityLaying henMetabolomics
spellingShingle Ying-ying Yang
Dong Dai
Hai-jun Zhang
Shu-geng Wu
Guang-hai Qi
Jing Wang
The characterization of uterine calcium transport and metabolism during eggshell calcification of hens laying high or low breaking strength eggshell
Poultry Science
Calcium transport
Eggshell calcification stage
Eggshell quality
Laying hen
Metabolomics
title The characterization of uterine calcium transport and metabolism during eggshell calcification of hens laying high or low breaking strength eggshell
title_full The characterization of uterine calcium transport and metabolism during eggshell calcification of hens laying high or low breaking strength eggshell
title_fullStr The characterization of uterine calcium transport and metabolism during eggshell calcification of hens laying high or low breaking strength eggshell
title_full_unstemmed The characterization of uterine calcium transport and metabolism during eggshell calcification of hens laying high or low breaking strength eggshell
title_short The characterization of uterine calcium transport and metabolism during eggshell calcification of hens laying high or low breaking strength eggshell
title_sort characterization of uterine calcium transport and metabolism during eggshell calcification of hens laying high or low breaking strength eggshell
topic Calcium transport
Eggshell calcification stage
Eggshell quality
Laying hen
Metabolomics
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0032579125003505
work_keys_str_mv AT yingyingyang thecharacterizationofuterinecalciumtransportandmetabolismduringeggshellcalcificationofhenslayinghighorlowbreakingstrengtheggshell
AT dongdai thecharacterizationofuterinecalciumtransportandmetabolismduringeggshellcalcificationofhenslayinghighorlowbreakingstrengtheggshell
AT haijunzhang thecharacterizationofuterinecalciumtransportandmetabolismduringeggshellcalcificationofhenslayinghighorlowbreakingstrengtheggshell
AT shugengwu thecharacterizationofuterinecalciumtransportandmetabolismduringeggshellcalcificationofhenslayinghighorlowbreakingstrengtheggshell
AT guanghaiqi thecharacterizationofuterinecalciumtransportandmetabolismduringeggshellcalcificationofhenslayinghighorlowbreakingstrengtheggshell
AT jingwang thecharacterizationofuterinecalciumtransportandmetabolismduringeggshellcalcificationofhenslayinghighorlowbreakingstrengtheggshell
AT yingyingyang characterizationofuterinecalciumtransportandmetabolismduringeggshellcalcificationofhenslayinghighorlowbreakingstrengtheggshell
AT dongdai characterizationofuterinecalciumtransportandmetabolismduringeggshellcalcificationofhenslayinghighorlowbreakingstrengtheggshell
AT haijunzhang characterizationofuterinecalciumtransportandmetabolismduringeggshellcalcificationofhenslayinghighorlowbreakingstrengtheggshell
AT shugengwu characterizationofuterinecalciumtransportandmetabolismduringeggshellcalcificationofhenslayinghighorlowbreakingstrengtheggshell
AT guanghaiqi characterizationofuterinecalciumtransportandmetabolismduringeggshellcalcificationofhenslayinghighorlowbreakingstrengtheggshell
AT jingwang characterizationofuterinecalciumtransportandmetabolismduringeggshellcalcificationofhenslayinghighorlowbreakingstrengtheggshell