Curcumin (CUR) is a kind of natural orange-yellow phenolic compound mainly extracted from the stems and roots of turmeric plants and other species in the genus Curcuma, furthermore, it is also the most important active ingredient exerting pharmacological functions in turmeric. In recent years, CUR has been frequently reported and has attracted widespread attention from scholars all over the world due to its numerous biological functions and good application prospects, such as anti-inflammatory, anticancer, antioxidant and providing lipid-lowering effects, etc. In addition, adding a certain dose of CUR to livestock and poultry feed is important for animal growth and development, which plays a key role in animal metabolism, reproduction, immunity and clinical health care. This review aims to summarize, based on the published papers and our own observations, the physical and chemical properties and the biological functions of the plant-derived bioactive ingredient CUR, especially regarding the latest research progress in regulating intestinal health as well as its current development and future application prospects in livestock and poultry as a novel feed additive, so as to provide theoretical and practical references for the further study of the application of CUR as a novel feed additive and a potential new antibiotic substitute, thereby improving the research field of plant-derived bioactive ingredients and promoting the healthy development of livestock and poultry.

Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease. Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) have multilineage differentiation and anti-inflammatory potential, and small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) can inhibit the target gene expression, which make them suitable for ameliorating RA. The current study was aimed to explore the effect and potential mechanisms of siRNAs targeting IL-1β/TNF-α combined with BMSCs transplantation in ameliorating RA in rats. Methods: Collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) model rats were randomly divided into five groups: PBS (Model control group), methotrexate (Positive drug treatment group), BMSCs (BMSCs transplantation group), siRNA (IL-1β/TNF-α siRNAs injection group), siRNA + BMSCs (Both IL-1β/TNF-α siRNAs injection and BMSCs transplantation group). After treatment for 0, 7, 14, 21, 28 days, the ameliorating effect was comprehensively assessed through results of the body weight, toe swelling value, the immobility time of forced swimming, the serum concentrations of IL-1β and TNF-α, knee joint DR-X imaging and pathological analysis as well as of IL-1β, TNF-α and NF-κB mRNA expression in spleen tissue. Furthermore, the potential underlying mechanism involving the NF-κB signaling pathways was also explored. Results: Compared with the PBS group, BMSCs, siRNA, siRNA + BMSCs treatment groups showed significant lower toe swelling value, immobility time, spleen index, serum contents of IL-1β and TNF-α. In addition, the DR-X results showed that the knee carton surface tended to smoothing without bone hyperplasia, suggesting that these three treatments were all able to successfully ameliorate RA symptoms. In addition, compared with the PBS group, the protein expression of p-NF-κB-p65 was significantly reduced in the knees of siRNA + BMSCs rats. BMSCs labeled with BrdU were also found in the knees of rats. Moreover, the mRNA expression of IL-1β, TNF-α and NF-κB-P65 in spleen tissue of siRNA + BMSCs rats were all significantly inhibited. Conclusions: Our results demonstrated for the first time that siRNA + BMSCs was able to ameliorate RA inflammation by inhibiting the activation of NF-κB signaling pathways and reducing the erosion of articular cartilage, and siRNA + BMSCs treatment showed synergism effects in helping ameliorating the inflammation and cartilage repair of RA rats. Therefore, the results of our present study provide a new idea for gene and stem cell therapy for RA.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune disease that causes erosion of articular cartilage and bone and has adverse effects on both patients and livestock animals. The aim of the present study was to investigate the role of interleukin‑1β (IL‑1β) in the pathogenesis of RA, and to further determine whether injection of IL‑1β small interfering RNA (siRNA) or transplantation of IL‑1β siRNA + bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) can ameliorate RA in rats. A collagen‑induced arthritis (CIA) rat model was established by injecting type II collagen for 4 weeks. Next, CIA rats were randomly divided into three groups and injected or transplanted with PBS, IL‑1β siRNA and IL‑1β siRNA + BMSCs for another 4 weeks. The CIA rat model was successfully established, as demonstrated by the higher toe swelling value, thymus and spleen/body weight, immobility time and serum IL‑1β concentration, as well as lower body weight, climbing time and mRNA expression of programmed death‑1 (PD‑1), transforming growth factor‑β1 (TGF‑β1) and forkhead box protein 3 (Foxp3) in the spleen, compared with control rats. Furthermore, histopathology results demonstrated that joint swelling and redness were observed in the knee joints of CIA rats. H&E results revealed that CIA rats presented erosive destruction of the bone and ulceration of the articular cartilage. In addition, in vitro results demonstrated that IL‑1β expression was successfully silenced after IL‑1β siRNA transfection in lipopolysaccharide‑stimulated BMSCs. When compared with the results of PBS rats, both IL‑1β siRNA injection and IL‑1β siRNA + BMSC transplantation significantly increased the body weight, climbing time and mRNA expression of PD‑1, TGF‑β1 and Foxp3 in the spleen, while significantly reduced the immobility time and serum IL‑1β concentration. In addition, when compared with that of IL‑1β siRNA injection, IL‑1β siRNA + BMSC transplantation exhibited markedly higher therapeutic efficacy against CIA. These results demonstrated that higher IL‑1β contributed to the pathogenesis of CIA, and that IL‑1β siRNA injection ameliorated CIA, while its combination with BMSCs exerted synergistic effects, which may be beneficial against RA.

In order to investigate the infection status and genotypes of Enterocytozoon bieneusi (E. bieneusi) in sheep and goats in Jiangsu Province, a total of 786 fresh fecal samples from 18 farms across five regions in Jiangsu were collected and examined for the presence of E. bieneusi, and the genotype of E. bieneusi was examined using nested-PCR and sequencing of the ribosomal internal transcribed spacer. The results showed that E. bieneusi was detected in the fecal samples of sheep and goats in all regions, with infection rates ranging from 23.65% to 42.81%. The overall infection rate was 36.51% (287/786). The infection rate of E. bieneusi showed no significant difference between sheep and goats, as well as among different ages of animals (p > 0.05), but showed a significant difference in sheep and goats with different health conditions (p < 0.05). The positive products were amplified and cloned and subjected to sequenced analysis. Six genotypes, BEB6, CHG2, CHG3, CHC8, CHG14, and COS-I, were found. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that the six genotypes belonged to Group 2, which had previously been described as a non-zoonotic group.