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  3. PKA and PKC signaling pathways mediate vitamin D₃-regulated intestinal phosphorus absorption in broiler chickens

PKA and PKC signaling pathways mediate vitamin D₃-regulated intestinal phosphorus absorption in broiler chickens

  • Poult Sci. 2026 Jun;105(6):106762. doi: 10.1016/j.psj.2026.106762.
Mengyuan Liu 1,  Li Xi 2,  Yu Zhou 1,  Mengyue Chen 3,  Hongxia Qu 2,  Bingbing Ma 2,  Liao Zhang 2,  Chuanxin Shi 2,  Guanhua Chen 2,  Zhouzheng Ren 4,  Jindang Cao 5,  Jincheng Han 6
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Department of Animal Science, College of Smart Animal Husbandry, College of Biology and Food, Shangqiu Normal University, Shangqiu 476000, China; Department of Animal Nutrition and Feed Science, College of Animal Science and Technology, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450046, China.
  • 2 Department of Animal Science, College of Smart Animal Husbandry, College of Biology and Food, Shangqiu Normal University, Shangqiu 476000, China.
  • 3 Department of Animal Science, College of Smart Animal Husbandry, College of Biology and Food, Shangqiu Normal University, Shangqiu 476000, China; Department of Bioengineering, College of Life Science, Henan Normal University, Xinxiang 453007, China.
  • 4 College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China.
  • 5 Department of Animal Science, College of Smart Animal Husbandry, College of Biology and Food, Shangqiu Normal University, Shangqiu 476000, China; Shandong Haineng Bioengineering Co, Ltd, Rizhao 276800, China.
  • 6 Department of Animal Science, College of Smart Animal Husbandry, College of Biology and Food, Shangqiu Normal University, Shangqiu 476000, China. Electronic address: [email protected].
PMID: 41855802 DOI: 10.1016/j.psj.2026.106762
Abstract

Three experiments were conducted to investigate the functional roles of the protein kinase A (PKA) and protein kinase C (PKC) signaling pathways in vitamin D₃ (VD₃)-regulated intestinal phosphorus (P) absorption in broiler chickens. Experiment 1 examined the effects of dietary VD3 levels on the PKA and PKC signaling pathways. Experiments 2 and 3 evaluated the effects of intraperitoneal injection of PKA and PKC inhibitors on intestinal P transporter expression. Results from Experiment 1 showed that 1000 IU/kg VD₃ improved growth performance (1-19 d), increased mRNA and protein expression of the jejunal NaPi-IIb phosphate transporter (P < 0.05), and affected the protein expression ratios of p-PKA/t-PKA, p-PI3K/t-PI3K, p-ERK/t-ERK, p-PKC/t-PKC and p-p38MAPK/t-p38MAPK (P < 0.05). In Experiment 2, the PKA Inhibitor H-89 reduced mRNA and protein expression of jejunal NaPi-IIb in broilers (10-15 d) (P < 0.05). H-89 increased p-PI3K/t-PI3K and p-ERK/t-ERK protein expression ratios (P < 0.05), reduced the p-p38MAPK/t-p38MAPK ratio (P < 0.05), and had no effect on the p-PKC/t-PKC ratio (P > 0.05). Experiment 3 showed that the PKC Inhibitor staurosporine decreased mRNA and protein expression of duodenal NaPi-IIb in broilers (9-13 d) (P < 0.05). Staurosporine increased the p-PKA/t-PKA protein expression ratio (P < 0.05), reduced the p-PI3K/t-PI3K and p-ERK/t-ERK ratios (P < 0.05), and had no effect on the p-p38MAPK/t-p38MAPK ratio (P > 0.05). Collectively, the PKA and PKC signaling pathways participate in VD₃-regulated intestinal P absorption in broiler chickens, and that the PKC pathway may function upstream of the PKA signaling pathway. This study lays a theoretical foundation for exploring the mineral homeostasis mechanisms by which VD₃ regulates intestinal P absorption in poultry.

Keywords

NaPi-IIb; PKA signaling pathway; PKC signaling pathway; Vitamin D(3); broiler chicken.

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