Dietary overload lithium decreases the adipogenesis in abdominal adipose tissue of broiler chickens

- Dietary overload lithium decreases adipogenesis in the adipose tissue of broilers.
- Overload lithium influences the mRNA expression of adipogenesis-associated factors.
- Hypothalamic NPY and its receptors expression can be influenced by overload lithium.
- The mechanisms for the decrease of adipogenesis by overload lithium are proposed.

To investigate the toxic effects of dietary overload lithium on the adipogenesis in adipose tissue of chicken and the role of hypothalamic neuropeptide Y (NPY) in this process, one-day-old male chicks were fed with the basal diet added with 0 (control) or 100 mg lithium/kg diet from lithium chloride (overload lithium) for 35 days. Abdominal adipose tissue and hypothalamus were collected at day 6, 14, and 35. As a percentage of body weight, abdominal fat decreased (p < 0.001) at day 6, 14, and 35, and feed intake and body weight gain decreased during day 7-14, and day 15-35 in overload lithium treated broilers as compared to control. Adipocyte diameter and DNA content in abdominal adipose tissue were significantly lower in overload-lithium treatment than control at day 35, although no significant differences were observed at day 6 and 14. Dietary overload lithium decreased (p < 0.01) transcriptional expression of preadipocyte proliferation makers ki-67 (KI67), microtubule-associated protein homolog (TPX2), and topoisomerase 2-alpha (TOP2A), and preadipocyte differentiation transcriptional factors peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ (PPARγ), and CCAAT/enhancer binding protein (C/EBP) α mRNA abundance in abdominal adipose tissue. In hypothalamus, dietary overload lithium influenced (p < 0.001) NPY, and NPY receptor (NPYR) 6 mRNA abundance at day 6 and 14, but not at day 35. In conclusion, dietary overload lithium decreased the adipogenesis in abdominal adipose tissue of chicken, which was accompanied by depressing transcriptional expression of adipogenesis-associated factors. Hypothalamic NPY had a potential role in the adipogenesis in abdominal adipose tissue of broilers with a short-term overload lithium treatment.