The effect of Se-deficient diet on gene expression of inflammatory cytokines in chicken brain.

Selenium (Se) plays an important role in the brain development, function, and degeneration, nutritional encephalomalacia is closely related with dietary Se in avian. However, there is little evidence on the relationship between inflammation and encephalomalacia in avian and the mechanism which Se regulates the inflammatory response in brain tissues remains to be unclear. The present paper describes the effects of Se-deficient granulated diet on one transcription factor-nuclear factor kappaB and four pro-inflammatory cytokines-tumor necrosis factor, cyclooxygenase2, inducible nitric oxide synthase and Prostaglandin E synthase mRNA expression in the chicken brain tissues associated encephalomalacia.