Table 1.
Components (% of dry matter—DM-) and estimated chemical composition (% of DM) of the diet administered to the groups of dairy sheep involved in the trial.
Fig 1.
Transcript abundance of several genes in the neutrophils of sheep.
NOD-like receptors (NLRs), Interleukin 1a (IL-1a), Myeloid-Differentiation-primary response gene 88 (MyD88), Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase-1 (MAPK-1), Transcription factor JunD (JunD), TIR (Toll/Interleukin-1 Receptor) domain-containing adaptor protein inducing interferon beta (TRIF), Interferon Regulatory Factor 3 (IRF-3), TNF Receptor-associated Factor 3 (TRAF-3), Interferon Regulatory Factor 5 (IRF-5), Interleukin 10 (IL-10), Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription 3 (STAT-3), Heme Oxygenase-1 (HO-1) and Conserved Helix-Loop-Helix-Ubiquitous Kinase (CHUK) or IKK-α relative to the geometrical mean of the references genes (Glyceraldehyde 3-Phosphate Dehydrogenase (GAPDH) and Tyrosine 3-monoxygenase/tryptophan 5-monooxygenase activation protein, zeta polypeptide (YWHAZ)). Bars show means ± SEM of each (n = 12) of the five dietary treatments; A: control, basal diet; B: basal diet +6.0 g/head rumen- protected methionine; C: basal diet +5.0 g/head rumen- protected lysine; D: basal diet +6.0 g/head rumen- protected methionine +5.0 g/head rumen- protected lysine and E: basal diet +12.0 g/head rumen- protected methionine +5.0 g/head rumen- protected lysine fed in ewes. Superscripts with small letters (a, b, c) between the five dietary treatments (A, B, C, D, E) differ significantly (p ≤ 0.05). The units in diagrams are relative.
Fig 2.
Transcript abundance of several genes in monocytes of sheep.
NOD-like receptors (NLRs), Interleukin 1a (IL-1a), Myeloid-Differentiation-primary response gene 88 (MyD88), Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase-1 (MAPK-1), Transcription factor JunD (JunD), TIR (Toll/Interleukin-1 Receptor) domain-containing adaptor protein inducing interferon beta (TRIF), Interferon Regulatory Factor 3 (IRF-3), TNF Receptor-associated Factor 3 (TRAF-3), Interferon Regulatory Factor 5 (IRF-5), Interleukin 10 (IL-10), Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription 3 (STAT-3), Heme Oxygenase-1 (HO-1) and Conserved Helix-Loop-Helix-Ubiquitous Kinase (CHUK) or IKK-α relative to the geometrical mean of the references genes (Glyceraldehyde 3-Phosphate Dehydrogenase (GAPDH) and Tyrosine 3-monoxygenase/tryptophan 5-monooxygenase activation protein, zeta polypeptide (YWHAZ)). Bars show means ± SEM of each (n = 12) of the five dietary treatments; A: control, basal diet; B: basal diet +6.0 g/head rumen- protected methionine; C: basal diet +5.0 g/head rumen- protected lysine; D: basal diet +6.0 g/head rumen- protected methionine +5.0 g/head rumen- protected lysine; and E: basal diet +12.0 g/head rumen- protected methionine +5.0 g/head rumen- protected lysine fed in ewes. Superscripts with small letters (a, b, c) between the five dietary treatments (A, B, C, D, E) differ significantly (p ≤ 0.05). The units in diagrams are relative.
Fig 3.
Pearson’s heat map correlations between the mRNA expression of several genes in neutrophils and monocytes of sheep.
Toll-like receptors 4 (TLR-4), nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB), tumor necrosis factor a (TNFa), interleukin 1β (IL-1β), interleukin 2 (IL-2), interleukin 6 (IL-6), interleukin 8 (IL-8), C-C motif chemokine ligand 5 (CCL-5) and chemokine (C-X-C motif) ligand 16 (CXCL-16), NOD-like receptors (NLRs), Interleukin 1a (IL-1a), Myeloid-Differentiation-primary response gene 88 (MyD88), Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase-1 (MAPK-1), Transcription factor JunD (JunD), TIR (Toll/Interleukin-1 Receptor) domain-containing adaptor protein inducing interferon beta (TRIF), Interferon Regulatory Factor 3 (IRF-3), TNF Receptor-associated Factor 3 (TRAF-3), Interferon Regulatory Factor 5 (IRF-5), Interleukin 10 (IL-10), Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription 3 (STAT-3), Heme Oxygenase-1 (HO-1) and Conserved Helix-Loop-Helix-Ubiquitous Kinase (CHUK) or IKK-α relative to the geometrical mean of the references genes (Glyceraldehyde 3-Phosphate Dehydrogenase (GAPDH) and Tyrosine 3-monoxygenase/tryptophan 5-monooxygenase activation protein, zeta polypeptide (YWHAZ)).