Immune, Oxidative, and Morphological Changes in the Livers of Tibetan Sheep after Feeding Resveratrol and β-Hydroxy-β-methyl Butyric Acid: A Transcriptome–Metabolome Integrative Analysis

Abstract

This study investigated the effects of dietary resveratrol (RES) and β-Hydroxy-β-methyl butyric acid (HMB) on immune, oxidative, and morphological changes in the livers of Tibetan sheep using transcriptomics and metabolomics. One hundred and twenty male Tibetan lambs of a similar initial weight (15.5 ± 0.14 kg) were randomly divided into four groups with thirty lambs per treatment: (1) H group (basal diet without RES or HMB); (2) H-RES group (1.5 g/day of RES); (3) H-HMB group (1250 mg/day of HMB); (4) H-RES-HMB group (1.5 g/day of RES and 1250 mg/day of HMB). The experiment was conducted for 100 days, including a pre-test period of 10 days and a formal period of 90 days. The results showed significantly increased concentrations of glutathione peroxidase, superoxide dismutase, and IgM in the H-RES-HMB group (p < 0.05), while the malondialdehyde levels were significantly decreased (p < 0.05). The glycolytic indices including creatinine kinase (CK), malate dehydrogenase (MDH), and succinate dehydrogenase (SDH) were significantly increased in the H-RES-HMB group compared with the others (p < 0.05). A histological analysis showed that the hepatic plate tissue in the H-RES-HMB group appeared normal with multiple cells. The transcriptomic analysis showed that the expression of genes associated with the calcium signaling pathway (MYLK2, CYSLTR2, ADCY1, HRH1, ATP2B2, NOS2, HRC, ITPR1, and CAMK2B) and the NF-κB signaling pathway (BCL2 and CARD14) in the H-RES-HMB group were upregulated. The key differential metabolites (d-pyroglutamic acid, DL-serine, DL-threonine, fumarate, and glyceric acid) were enriched in the pathways associated with D-amino acid metabolism, the citrate cycle (TCA cycle), and carbon metabolism. The combined transcriptomic and non-targeted metabolomic analyses showed the co-enrichment of differential genes (NOS2 and GLUD1) and metabolites (fumarate) in arginine biosynthesis-regulated glycolytic activity, whereas the differential genes (ME1, SCD5, FABP2, RXRG, and CPT1B) and metabolites (Leukotriene b4) co-enriched in the PPAR signaling pathway affected the immune response by regulating the PI3K/AKT and cGMP/PKG signaling. In conclusion, the dietary RES and HMB affected the hepatic antioxidant capacity, immune response, and glycolytic activity through modulating the transcriptome (BCL2, CAMK2B, ITPR1, and IL1R1) and metabolome (DL-serine, DL-threonine, fumaric acid, and glycolic acid).