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
  • 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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