{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,17]],"date-time":"2026-10-17T04:52:33Z","timestamp":1792212753279,"version":"4.4.0"},"reference-count":39,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,8,30]],"date-time":"2021-08-30T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1630281600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Vet. Sci."],"abstract":"<jats:p>The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of <jats:italic>in ovo<\/jats:italic> injection of <jats:italic>Astragalus<\/jats:italic> polysaccharide (APS) on hatchability, body weight (BW), intestinal histomorphology, the number of IgA<jats:sup>+<\/jats:sup> cells and sIgA content in intestine, and the expression of intestinal immune-related genes in broiler chickens. On day 18 of the incubation, a total of 960 live embryo eggs were weighed and randomly divided into 4 treatment groups: a control group and three APS groups. The eggs in the control group were injected with 0.5 mL physiological saline. The eggs in the APS groups were injected with 3 different amounts of APS in 0.5 mL physiological saline: 1 mg (APS<jats:sub>L<\/jats:sub>), 2 mg (APS<jats:sub>M<\/jats:sub>) and 4 mg (APS<jats:sub>H<\/jats:sub>). The solution was injected into the amnion of each egg. The results showed that <jats:italic>in ovo<\/jats:italic> injection of APS did not affect the hatchability but increased the body weight of the 14 d and 21 d chickens, with a significant increase observed in the APS<jats:sub>M<\/jats:sub> group (<jats:italic>P<\/jats:italic> &amp;lt; 0.05). At most time points, the villus height (VH) was increased (<jats:italic>P<\/jats:italic> &amp;lt; 0.05) and the crypt depth (CD) was decreased (<jats:italic>P<\/jats:italic> &amp;lt; 0.05) in the small intestine of the broilers, with higher VH\/CD ratios in the APS<jats:sub>L<\/jats:sub> and APS<jats:sub>M<\/jats:sub> groups compared with the control group. The number of IgA<jats:sup>+<\/jats:sup> cells in the mucosa and the secretory immunoglobulin A (sIgA) levels in the intestinal washings were higher in the APS<jats:sub>M<\/jats:sub> and APS<jats:sub>H<\/jats:sub> groups than in the APS<jats:sub>L<\/jats:sub> and control groups. The gene expression levels of interleukin (IL)-2, interleukin (IL)-4, interferon gamma (IFN-\u03b3), and Toll-like receptor (TLR)-4 were significantly enhanced by APS stimulation at most time points (<jats:italic>P<\/jats:italic> &amp;lt; 0.05). These results indicated that <jats:italic>in ovo<\/jats:italic> injection of APS has the potential of promoting intestinal development and enhancing intestinal mucosal immunity of broiler chickens in the early stage after hatching.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fvets.2021.738816","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,9,3]],"date-time":"2021-09-03T15:54:24Z","timestamp":1630684464000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":31,"title":["Effects of in ovo Injection of Astragalus Polysaccharide on the Intestinal Development and Mucosal Immunity in Broiler Chickens"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"8","author":[{"given":"Shu-bao","family":"Yang","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yan-jun","family":"Qin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Xin","family":"Ma","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Wei-min","family":"Luan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Peng","family":"Sun","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"An-qi","family":"Ju","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ao-yi","family":"Duan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ying-nan","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Dong-hai","family":"Zhao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,8,30]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"E806","DOI":"10.1111\/jpn.12838","article-title":"In 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