Fangxiong Shi

• PhD
• Professor (Full) at Nanjing Agricultural University

(1) Background: This study aimed to detect whether alpha-lipoic acid (ALA) supplementation could reduce lead (Pb)-induced testicular toxicity in roosters. (2) Methods: A total of 48 roosters, aged 20 weeks, were selected and randomly allocated to six treatment groups: basic diet (CON); CON + 150 mg/kg (CH3OO)2Pb (LPB); CON + 300 mg/kg (CH3OO)2Pb (H...

This study explores the effects of fermented bamboo powder (FBP) on the growth performance, antioxidant status, intestinal morphology, and expression of nutrient transporter genes in broiler chickens. Two groups were formed from 600 healthy 1-day-old chicks; each group included 30 chicks, repeated 10 times. The control group was fed a basal diet an...

Bamboo powder, a novel ingredient, is gaining recognition for its potential as a dietary supplement in poultry feed. This study aimed to investigate the effects of fermented bamboo powder (FBP) on antioxidant status, gut hormone activities, intestinal digestive enzyme activities, gut morphological structure, gastrointestinal development , and the e...

Bamboo powder, an economically advantageous supplement for broiler diets, contains a significant amount of insoluble fiber, making its inclusion essential. This study aimed to investigate the effects of fermented bamboo powder (FBP) on the expression of genes related to antioxidants, odorant receptors, growth, and immunity in Yellow-Feathered Broil...

lncRNA (long non-coding RNA) has been confirmed to be associated with growth, development, cell proliferation, and other biological processes. This study explored the potential role and dynamic change process of lncRNAs and related ceRNA (competitive endogenous RNA) networks in skeletal muscle development of the Yangtze River Delta White (YDW) goat...

The reproductive performance of female chickens is critical for determining the efficiency of production and productivity and thus profitability. Studies have shown that the reproductive performance of female chickens is mainly regulated by the feed, hormones, genes, and light conditions. Herein, we review the major factors regulating female chicke...

The incorporation of unconventional feed ingredients in animal husbandry aims to improve nutritional efficiency and animal health. Bamboo, known for its rich mineral, antioxidant, and dietary fiber content, represents a potential alternative feed ingredient. This study explores the effects of fermented bamboo powder (FBP) on growth performance, ant...

BACKGROUND Distiller's grains are a by‐product of liquor production with a higher yield than liquor. Developing and utilizing distiller's grains well could alleviate the problem of scarce feed resources. Our present experiment was conducted with 6000 yellow‐feathered broilers to study the effects of adding distiller's grains yeast cultures (DGYC) t...

The continuous increasing demand for egg quality and quantity, and the expanding market share have enabled the egg industry to achieve significant benefits through genetic improvement. This study aims to estimate the genetic parameters and explore selectable breeding traits in the purebred Rhode Island Red (RIR) and White Leghorn (WL), which are 2...

Objective To investigate the successive morphological stages of spermatogenesis, hormonal regulation, and testosterone profile in dromedary camel reproduction. Methods Testicular tissue samples were obtained from 12 dromedary bull camels aged 7 to 8 at a local abattoir. The histological assessment involved tissue processing, hematoxylin and eosin...

The development of skeletal muscle is a crucial factor in determining the meat yield and economic benefits of broiler production. Recent research has shown that mulberry leaves and their extracts can be used to significantly improve the growth performance of livestock and poultry. The present study aims to elucidate the mechanisms involved in the r...

BACKGROUND Non‐nutritive sweeteners (NNS) are commonly used in sweetened foods and beverages; however their role in metabolic regulation is still not clear. In this experiment, we used guinea pigs as an animal model to study the effect of NNS on body growth and intestinal health by modifying gut microbiota and hypothalamus‐related proteins. RESULT...

The present study investigated the effects of fermented bamboo powder (FPB) on gut odorant receptors (OR), intestinal health, and growth performance of dwarf yellow-feathered broiler chickens. Six hundred (600) healthy 1-day-old chicks were randomly assigned into 2 groups, with 10 replicates consisting of 30 chicks each. The control group was fed a...

The present study investigated the effects of fermented bamboo powder (FPB) on gut odorant receptors (ORs), intestinal health, and growth performance of dwarf yellow-feathered broiler chickens. Six hundred (600) healthy 1-day-old chicks were randomly assigned into two groups, with 10 replicates consisting of 30 chicks each. The control group was fe...

In brief Genistein contributes to granulosa cell (GC) survival by two routes: one is that genistein induced p-AMPK and inhibited p-mTOR, which induces LC3 activation and autophagy; the other is that genistein inhibited caspase-3 and its cleavage, which induces PARP1 activation and PARylation. Abstract Genistein is an isoflavone which is beneficial...

BACKGROUND Dietary supplementation with trace elements zinc (Zn), iron (Fe) and manganese (Mn) could promote intestinal development and improve intestinal health. There are, however, few studies examining the possibility that maternal original Zn, Fe and Mn could regulate intestinal development and barrier function in the offspring. This study aime...

Introduction Diabetes and thyroid dysfunction often co-exist. One autoimmune disorder always invites another and it has been reported that such co-morbid ailments always become detrimental to the health of the patients. Materials and methods In our previous work, we elucidated the interactions of diabetes and hypothyroidism on testicular developme...

Simple Summary The negative effects of lead (Pb) and cadmium (Cd) exposure on the testicular function of bull camels are examined in this study. We uncover the bioaccumulation of these toxic metals, which causes subcellular alterations, reduced testes, and altered hormone synthesis, through comprehensive sampling and analysis. The results highlight...

Simple Summary: The current project was designed to examine the effects of restraint stress on body weights, food and water consumption, and pathophysiology of the stomach and spleen in adult mice, and potential roles of the phenolic compound resveratrol during treatment. We found that restraint stress (which is known to be a mixture of psychologic...

Saccharine sodium and rebaudioside A are low-calorie sweeteners, and the biologic effects of these sweeteners in rat ovaries are related to the activity of sweet taste receptors. Data on the impact and regulatory mechanisms underlying such sweeteners on the reproduction of aged animals are currently lacking. In the present study we assessed how the...

Taste receptor type 1 subunit 3 (T1R3) is initially expressed in mammal tongue for recognition and response of sweet/umami tastants and is critical to nutrient absorption, even endocrine. In this study, down-regulation of related steroidogenic enzymes such as StAR, 3β-HSD, CYP17A1, and 17β-HSD with the decrease of T1R3 expression was found in Leydi...

Simple Summary The objective of this study was to examine the effects of lycopene and L-carnitine in combination in the duodenum of roosters. The duodenum is important for Lycopene absorption, and the study found that the combination of Lycopene and L-Carnitine increased Lycopene absorption, resulting in higher levels of Lycopene in the serum. The...

In brief The apoptosis of granulosa cells (GCs) is the main reason for porcine follicular atresia. This study provides a novel mechanism for peroxynitrite anion-mediated GC apoptosis and follicular atresia in porcine ovary. Abstract Granulosa cells play a crucial role in the development of follicles, and their cell apoptosis in the porcine ovary i...

This study was aimed to investigate the effects of dietary curcumin supplementation on the hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)-induced testicular oxidative damage in breeder roosters. Thirty-two 20-week roosters were randomly divided into four groups: (1) basal diet (CON); (2) basal diet with H2O2 challenge (H2O2); (3) basal diet with 200 mg/kg curcumin (CUR)...

For the male genetic materials to reach and fertilize the egg, spermatozoa must contend with numerous environmental changes in a complex and highly sophisticated process from generation in the testis, and maturation in the epididymis to capacitation and fertilization. Taste is an ancient chemical sense that has an essential role in the animal’s res...

The intestinal immune function of chickens is limited during the early growing stage. Maternal nutritional intervention has been suggested to affect the innate immunity of offspring. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of maternal stevioside supplementation on the intestinal immune function of chicken offspring. A total of 120 Jinmao...

The aging phenomenon often exerts a significant reduction in the reproduction performance of aged animals. The objective of this project was to investigate the effects of dietary Folic acid (FA) supplementation on the reproductive performance of aged broiler breeder roosters. A total of 16 aged ROSS 308 broiler breeder roosters (50-week-old) were r...

Mulberry-leaf flavonoids (MF), extracted from mulberry leaves, exert antioxidant and hypolipidemic effects. The purpose of this experimental study was to investigate the effects of dietary MF on the ovarian function and liver lipid metabolism of aged breeder hens. We used 270 (60-weeks-old) Qiling breeder hens randomly assigned in 3 treatments with...

Eggshell quality is subject to a significant decline in the late laying period, which results in huge economic losses. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of dietary mulberry-leaf flavonoids (MF) on the eggshell quality of aged breeder hens. A total of 270 (60-week-old) Qiling breeder hens were randomly assigned to 3 treatments...

Hawthorn-leaves flavonoids (HF), extracted from hawthorn leaves, were reported to exert antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and hypolipidemic properties. The aim of our study was to investigate the effects of dietary HF on the reproduction performance and liver lipid metabolism of aged breeder hens. A total of 270 aged Qiling breeder hens (60-wk-old) we...

Simple Summary Saccharin sodium (SS) is one of the commonly used artificial sweeteners (AS) in the food industry, but the mechanisms mediating the physiological effects of sweeteners in the gut-brain axis is still unclear. The aim of this study was to explore the regulatory effect of SS on the microbiota-gut-hypothalamus axis on guinea pigs. We fou...

Our previous study showed that dietary stevioside supplementation could alleviate intestinal mucosal damage induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) through its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects in broiler chickens. However, it remains unknown...

Taste receptors are not only expressed in the taste buds, but also in other non-gustatory tissues, including the reproductive system. Taste receptors can be activated by various tastants, thereby exerting relatively physiologic functions. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects and potential mechanisms underlying ovarian taste receptor...

Aged breeder hens often exhibit a significantly decreased reproductive performance in the late laying period. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of dietary stevioside (STE) supplementation on the laying performance and egg quality of aged breeder hens. A total of 120 aged Jinmao breeder hens (54-week-old) were randomly divid...

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effects of dietary alpha-lipoic acid (ALA) sup-plementation on the reproductive performance of aged breeder roosters. Sixteen 50-wk-old ROSS 308 breeder roosters were randomly allocated to two groups: roosters received a basal diet (CON), or a basal diet supplemented with 300 mg/kg of ALA (ALA...

BACKGROUND Stevioside (STE) is a widely used sweetener. Despite the fact that chickens are insensitive to sweetness, dietary STE supplementation could increase the feed intake of broiler chickens. Stevioside might regulate the feeding behavior through functional mechanisms other than its high‐potency sweetness. The present study was aimed to elucid...

Alpha‐lipoic acid (ALA), a multifunctional antioxidant, can promote fatty acid mobilization, energy expenditure and scavenge free radicals. The effects of dietary ALA on the reproductive performance of breeder hens were investigated in the current study. In the 5‐week experiment, 180 54‐week‐old Qiling breeder hens were randomly divided into three...

Premature ovarian failure (POF) is one of the principal causes of female infertility, and although its causes are complex and diverse, autoimmune deficiency may be involved. Human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (UCMSCs) can be used for tissue regeneration and repair. Therefore, the present study was designed to determine the role of UCMSCs i...

Body weight (BW) is a critical economic trait for meat production in sheep. The current study aimed to perform a genome-wide association study (GWAS) to detect significant single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that are associated with BW in Hu sheep. The comparison and analysis of the G1 and G2 generations of a nucleus meat Hu sheep breeding herd...

The sense of bitter taste is critical for chickens to acquire and select feeds. It is important to understand the roles and mechanisms of bitter taste transduction in chickens. Denatonium is extensively used as a bitter taste receptor agonist to activate bitter taste receptors in recent studies. The objective of this study was to investigate the ph...

Objectives Estrogen plays an important role in for growth and development of reproductive system in female. The major royal jelly (RJ) has a significant estrogenic-like effect for many female animals. The major RJ proteins (MRJPs) are the central constituents responsible for the physiological activities of RJ. In recent years, we have found that MR...

The major royal jelly proteins (MRJPs) are the central constituents responsible for the specific activities of royal jelly. Here MRJPs via oral administration daily for 45 consecutive days were evaluated the effects on the reproductive parameters in immature female mice (FM). Neonatal FM were divided into four groups fed MRJPs with doses of 0, 125,...

Genistein is abundant in the corn-soybean meal feed. Little information is available about the effect of dietary genistein on the intestinal transcriptome of chicks, especially when suffering from intestinal injury. In this study, 180 one-day-old male ROSS 308 broiler chickens were randomly allocated to three groups, with four replicates (cages) of...

The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of dietary three kinds of sweeteners supplementation on growth performance, serum biochemicals and jejunal physiological functions of broiler chickens for 21 days. A total of 192 1-day-old male Ross 308 broiler chicks were randomly divided into four treatments with six replicates for each t...

The past three decades revolutionized the goose industry in the world. China holds the world’s largest goose breeds stock by 95% of the global total. To optimize the goose industry and cope with ever increasing poultry meat and egg demands, there is a dire need to focus on reproduction, as most geese breeds exhibit poor reproductive performance. Th...

The underlying mechanism of taste receptor type 1 subunit 2 (T1R2) and taste receptor type 1 subunit 3 (T1R3) in the hormonal and reproductive system is still elusive. A low or a high dose of sweetness equivalent to that sodium saccharin (SS, 1.5 or 7.5 mM) and rebaudioside A (RA, 0.5 or 2.5 mM) was administered to young female guinea pigs for 28 c...

Simple Summary Spermatogenesis and hormones secretions are important life-threating and complicated process, which can be affected by environmental estrogens. Genistein, a type of isoflavones, widely exists in the soybean products diet, which exerts a controversial role in reproductive regulation for its special structures or functions. The results...

It is assumed that nitric oxide synthase and nitric oxide are involved in the regulation of female reproduction. This study aimed to assess the roles of nitric oxide synthase (NOS) in follicular development. The endothelial NOS (eNOS) inhibitor L-NAME, inducible NOS (iNOS) inhibitor S-Methylisothiourea (SMT) and NOS substrate L-arginine (L-Arg) wer...

Simple Summary Maternal stress during pregnancy affected the early programming of the brain in the fetus with changes in neuroendocrine regulation, and offspring behavior was proven in the literature. In addition, resveratrol (RES) was reported to play positive roles against stress. However, how maternal stress affects testicular development and wh...

Genistein is abundant in animal feed. In this study, the side effects of high-dose genistein on intestinal health and hypothalamic RNA profile were evaluated. Chicks exposed to high-dose genistein by intraperitoneal injection (416 ± 21, 34.5 ± 2.5) and feed supplementation (308 ± 19, 27.2 ± 2.1) both showed a reduced body weight gain and feed intak...

Little information has been available about the influence of dietary genistein (GEN) on hepatic transcriptome of laying broiler breeder (LBB) hens. The study is aimed at broadening the understanding of RNA expression profiles and alternative splicing (AS) signatures of GEN-treated breeder hens and thereby improving laying performance and immune fun...

The study was conducted to investigate the effects of dietary stevioside (STE) supplementation on the lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced intestinal mucosal damage of broiler chickens. A total of 192 one-day-old male Ross 308 broiler chicks were randomly divided into four treatments: (1) basal diet (CON); (2) basal diet supplemented with 250 mg/kg ste...

Simple Summary Spermatogenesis and hormones secretions are serious life-threating and complicated process, which can be improve through science-based approaches. Royal jelly is a thick white milky fluid secreted by the hypopharyngeal and mandibular glands of young nurse worker bees (Apis mellifera) and used to feed their queen to expand their life....

Simple Summary The search for effective medicines is challenging. Resveratrol is a phytoalexin, and its function remains unelucidated. Therefore, we undertook the present study to investigate reproductive disturbances due to restraint stress in mice and whether resveratrol plays an anti-stress role. Our results confirmed that resveratrol plays a po...

Simple Summary The current project was designed to examine the effects of restraint stress on body weights, food and water consumption, and pathophysiology of the stomach and spleen in adult mice, and potential roles of the phenolic compound resveratrol during treatment. We found that restraint stress (which is known to be a mixture of psychologic...

Simple Summary Denatonium benzoate is a strong bitter taste receptor agonist, extensively used for its activation of different cell pathways. Taste signals have been associated to food recognition and avoidance, and bitter taste provokes an aversive reaction and is assumed to protect chickens from consuming poisons and harmful toxic substances. The...

Simple Summary In chickens, bitter taste is the most significant biological taste disrupter; it is believed to protect chickens against consuming poisonous/toxic materials and considered a warning signal prior to ingestion. The bitter taste receptors’ extraoral expression information is deficient in chicken, and denatonium benzoate is extensively u...

Saccharine sodium and rebaudioside A are low-calorie sweeteners, and the biologic effects of these sweeteners in rat ovaries are related to the activity of sweet taste receptors. Data on the impact and regulatory mechanisms underlying such sweeteners on the reproduction of aged animals are currently lacking. In the present study we assessed how the...

Ion channels in myometrial cells play critical roles in spontaneous and agonist-induced uterine contraction during the menstrual cycle, pregnancy maintenance and parturition; thus identifying the genes of ion channels in these cells and determining their roles are essential to understanding the biology of reproduction. Previous studies with in vitr...

Bisphenol A (BPA) is a chemical of high production volume that is used widely in many industries, and is known as a xenoestrogen and anti‐thyroid hormone endocrine disrupter. There is little information regarding the effects of BPA in the presence of thyroid hormone on porcine granulosa cell development. Thus, the primary granulosa cells were treat...

3-nitropropionic acid (3-NPA) is known to be a mitochondrial toxin produced by plants and fungi, which may produce DNA damage in cells. However, studies of its reproductive toxicology are lacking. We know that poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) plays an important role in a large variety of physiological processes and is involved in DNA repair pathw...

The present study was designed to investigate the potential role of immunization against inhibin on testicular development, plasma testosterone concentration and expression of relevant genes in hypothalamus, pituitary, Leydig and Sertoli cells in Yangzhou ganders. For this purpose, Yangzhou ganders, n = 30 were divided into groups A and B. Group B...

Soy-based formula contains high concentrations of the isoflavone genistein. Genistein possesses estrogenic and tyrosine kinase inhibitory activity and interferes with cellular proliferation and development. To date, the acute and chronic effects of genistein on ovarian and uterine development have not been fully elucidated. In this study, mice at p...

Acute gastric mucosal injuries are serious clinical problems worldwide and are principally found with different types of stresses in animals. A constant challenge is to find original plant products that can combat stress. In the present study, we examined the effects of big-leaf mulberry extracts on stomach injury, and the activity of nitric oxide...

Background: Diabetes and hypothyroidism produce adverse effects on body weight and sexual maturity by inhibiting body growth and metabolism. The occurrence of diabetes is always accompanied with thyroid dysfunction. Thus, it is important to take hypo- or hyper-thyroidism into consideration when exploring the adverse effects caused by diabetes. Pre...

To study the expression patterns of claudin-5 and its related signals during luteal regression in rats, a sequential PMSG/hCG treatment paradigm was used to obtain a single, well-defined generation of corpus luteum (CL). A total of 35 rats were treated with one PGF or two PGF at an interval of 24 h from day 7 of pseudopregnancy to induce CL regress...

Melatonin plays a crucial role in the amelioration of reproductive toxicity induced by endocrine-disrupting chemicals. However, very few studies have investigated the mitigating effects of melatonin on BPA-induced dysfunction in porcine granulosa cells. In the present study, primary granulosa cells were cultured in serum-low conditions with bisphen...

In order to investigate the effects of Rutin against restraint stress, 50 adult male mice were divided into five groups: control, restraint stress (RS), and RS with 2 doses of Rutin treatments. Mice were restrained in a conical tube for 4 hours daily and Rutin was injected intraperitoneally for 15 consecutive days. Restraint stress significantly de...

To expand our understanding of the roles of thyroid hormones on female reproduction, we induced hypo- and hyper-T rat models to investigate the roles of thyroid hormones on estrous cyclicity, as well as the antioxidative status in the ovaries of rats. In the current study, our data show that hypothyroidism (hypo-T) and hyperthyroidism (hyper-T) led...

Saccharin sodium and rebaudioside A are widely used as non-caloric sweeteners in our daily life; however, the impacts and regulatory mechanisms of such sweeteners on reproduction remain unclear. In the present study, we used rats as animal models to evaluate the effects of daily exposure to saccharin sodium and rebaudioside A on ovarian biologic fu...

Thyroid hormones are important in the development and regulation of testes. This study was conducted to determine the effects of hyper- and hypothyroidism on testicular development in prepubertal rats aged 20–70 days. Weaning male rats (20 days old) until day 70 age were randomly divided into four groups: control, hyperthyroid (hyper-T), hypothyroi...

Preterm birth (PTB) is the leading cause of neonatal mortality and morbidity, with few prevention and treatment options. Uterine contraction is a central feature of PTB, so gaining new insights into the mechanisms of this contraction and consequently identifying novel targets for tocolytics are essential for more successful management of PTB. Here...

This study evaluated the effects of comorbid disorders of diabetes and hyperthyroidism in the adult male mice. In total, 32 ICR strain mice were equally distributed into four groups: control (C), diabetic (D), diabetic-plushyperthyroid (DH), and hyperthyroid (H). Mice allocated for diabetes received a single intraperitoneal injection of streptozoto...