TABLE 7.

Cecal tonsils IL1-β, IL-6, and IL-10 mRNA expression at 24 and 48 h post-LPS injection (Experiment II).

Cecal tonsils	0-hole Control	2-holes Control	0-hole- LPS	2-holes-LPS	Main effects		Interaction	SEM
					Hole P-value	LPS challenge P-value	Hole × LPS challenge P-value
24h
IL1-β	1.0b	1.1b	11.8a	2.3b	0.01	0.01	0.01	0.6
IL6	1.0b	1.8b	3.9a	1.9b	0.36	0.02	0.03	0.3
IL10	1.0	1.4	2.6	4.7	0.09	0.01	0.26	0.4
TLR4	1.0b	1.6b	4.1a	2.1b	0.20	0.01	0.01	0.3
48 h
IL1-β	1.0	1.1	1.0	1.5	0.76	0.07	0.64	0.2
IL6	1.0	1.2	2.4	1.5	0.53	0.17	0.28	0.2
IL10	1.0b	1.8b	5.7a	2.8b	0.14	0.01	0.01	0.4
TLR4	1.0	1.5	2.5	2.2	0.83	0.10	0.50	0.3

Fertile broiler eggs were incubated at standard (37.5°C) incubation temperature from embryonic day (ED) 1–8. At ED8, the eggs incubated at 37.5°C were drilled either 0-hole or 2-holes in the eggshell above the air cell and continued to incubate until ED18. The embryos from each treatment group were transferred to the hatcher and maintained at 37.0°C and 70% relative humidity until hatch. At D1, hatchlings from each treatment group were challenged intraperitoneally with either 0 or 500 μg lipopolysaccharide (LPS)/kg BW in a 2 (0-hole, 2 holes) × 2 (control, LPS challenge) factorial design. At 24 and 48 h post-LPS injection, cecal tonsils from all the treatment groups were collected and mRNA was quantified by real-time PCR analysis. The mRNA content was corrected for reference gene RPS13 mRNA content and normalized to the mRNA content of the 0-hole-control group. Means with no common superscripts differ significantly (P ≤ 0.05). n = 6.