A multiomic analysis of chicken serum revealed the modulation of host factors due to Campylobacter jejuni coloniza-tion and in-water supplementation of eugenol nanoemulsion

Authors: WAGLE, BASANTA - Centers For Disease Control And Prevention (CDC) - United States; QUACH, AUSTIN - Dalton Bioanalytics; YEO, SEUNGJUN - Dalton Bioanalytics; ASSUMPCAO, ANNA - University Of Arkansas; Jesudhasan, Palmy; Arsi, Komala; Donoghue, Ann - Annie

Submitted to: Animals
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/3/2023
Publication Date: 2/5/2023
Citation: Wagle, B., Quach, A., Yeo, S., Assumpcao, A., Jesudhasan, P., Arsi, K., Donoghue, A.M. 2023. A multiomic analysis of chicken serum revealed the modulation of host factors due to Campylobacter jejuni coloniza-tion and in-water supplementation of eugenol nanoemulsion. Animals. 13(4). Article 559. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13040559.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13040559

Interpretive Summary: Campylobacter species (Campylobacter jejuni and C. coli) are responsible for human foodborne illnesses. The disease caused by Campylobacter in human is called human campylobacteriosis. Approximately, 95 million people are affected every year worldwide. Campylobacter is commonly present in the intestinal tract of chickens. More than 90% of human campylobacteriosis are associated with the consumption of poultry meat. The biological factors of the chicken gut that enable colonization of Campylobacter remain unknown. Identifying the chicken gut factors involved in the colonization would allow us to develop intervention tools to control Campylobacter in the preharvest stage and aid in the prevention of Campylobacter-related foodborne illnesses and associated economic losses. So, we conducted a study on broiler chickens to identify the biomarkers (host factor) critical for the successful colonization of C. jejuni in broiler chickens. For this study, we used day-of-hatch broiler chickens and were assigned to three treatment groups (n=5 birds/group); (1) Negative Control – No challenge, (2) Positive Control - Challenged with C. jejuni, and (3) EG treatment – C. jejuni -challenged chickens and supplemented with 0.125% eugenol (EG) in the water. Birds were challenged with C. jejuni on day-7, and plasma samples were collected from each group on day 14 for multiomic analysis. Using a novel LCMS-based technology, we profiled biologically relevant molecules such as protein, lipids, metabolites, and exosomes that mediate C. jejuni colonization in the intestinal tract of broilers.

Technical Abstract: Campylobacter jejuni is a foodborne pathogen that causes campylobacteriosis annually, affecting ~95 million people worldwide. Most C. jejuni infections are associated with consuming and han-dling improperly cooked poultry meat. Since the chicken host factors that enable Campylobacter colonization remain unknown, we explored a novel LCMS-based multiomic technology to iden-tify the host factors. We used broiler chickens (n=10 birds/group) and had three groups: (1) nega-tive control, (2) positive control, and (3) eugenol nanoemulsion (EGNE) treatment - supple-mented with 0.125% EGNE in the water. Birds in groups 2 and 3 were challenged with C. jejuni on day 7, and serum samples were collected from all groups on day 14. Using this multiomic analysis, we identified 1216 analytes (275 compounds, 7 inorganics, 407 lipids, 527 proteins). Colonization of C. jejuni significantly upregulated CREG1, creatinine, and 3-[2-(3-Hydroxyphenyl) ethyl]-5-methoxyphenol and downregulated sphingosine, SP d18:1, high mobility group protein B3, phosphatidylcholines (PC) P-20:0_16:0, PC 11:0_26:1, and PC 13:0_26:2. We found that 5-hydroxyindole-3-acetic acid was significantly increased with EGNE treatment when compared to the positive and negative controls. In addition, the treatment increased several metabolites when compared to negative controls. In conclusion, this study revealed several potential targets to control Campylobacter in broiler chickens.