Dysregulated Expression of mRNAs and SNPs in Pulmonary Artery Remodeling in Ascites Syndrome in Broilers

ABSTRACT Broiler ascites syndrome (AS), also called pulmonary artery hypertension (PAH), is a metabolic disorder that has been observed worldwide in fast growing broilers. Pulmonary arterial remodeling is a key step in the development of AS. The precise relationship between mRNAs and SNPs(Single-nucleotide polymorphism) of pulmonary artery in regulating AS progression remains unclear. In this study, we obtained pulmonary artery tissues from broilers with AS to perform pathological section and pathological anatomical observation. SNP, indel and mRNA data analysis were carried out using GATK and ANNOVAR software to study the SNP loci of 985 previously reported genes (437 up-regulated and 458 down-regulated). The pathology results showed that there was a lot of yellow fluid in the abdominal cavity and pericardium, the ascites cardiac index (AHI) and hematocrit (HCT) changed significantly, and that the pulmonary artery had remodeled and become thicker in the disease group. Myocardial sections showed vacuolar degeneration of myocytes and rupture of muscle fibers. In addition, ALDH7A1, IRG1, GGT5, IGSF1, DHX58, USP36, TREML2, SPAG1, CD34 and PLEKHA7 were found to be closely associated with the pathogenesis of pulmonary artery remodeling in AS progression. Taken together, our current study further illuminates the molecular mechanism of pulmonary artery remodeling underlying AS progression.