胸腺是动物的中央淋巴器官，是 T 细胞发育、分化和成熟的场所，对适应性免疫至关重要。胸腺对于维持组织稳态以防止肿瘤和组织损伤至关重要。过度活跃或延长的免疫反应可能会因活性氧产生增加而导致氧化应激。热应激会诱发氧化应激并压倒天然的抗氧化防御机制。本研究的目的是通过比较热中性组、热应激组和虾青素热应激组三组的生长性能和基因信号通路，探讨虾青素对鸡胸腺热诱导氧化应激和细胞凋亡的保护作用。热中性温度为21-22℃，热应力温度为32-35℃。两个热应激组的生长性能均有所下降，而虾青素处理组的生长性能下降幅度略小。与热中性组相比，热应激期间 NF-kB、NFE2L2、PPARα、细胞保护能力和凋亡基因通路的上调激活了炎症反应和抗氧化防御系统。然而，抗氧化剂组在热中性和热应激下的表达水平没有显着差异，这表明虾青素可以减轻炎症和氧化应激损伤。

The thymus, a central lymphoid organ in animals, serves as the site for T cell development, differentiation and maturation, vital to adaptive immunity. The thymus is critical for maintaining tissue homeostasis to protect against tumors and tissue damage. An overactive or prolonged immune response can lead to oxidative stress from increased production of reactive oxygen species. Heat stress induces oxidative stress and overwhelms the natural antioxidant defense mechanisms. This study's objectives were to investigate the protective properties of astaxanthin against heat-induced oxidative stress and apoptosis in the chicken thymus, by comparing the growth performance and gene signaling pathways among three groups: thermal neutral, heat stress, and heat stress with astaxanthin. The thermal neutral temperature was 21-22 °C, and the heat stress temperature was 32-35 °C. Both heat stress groups experienced reduced growth performance, while the astaxanthin-treated group showed a slightly lesser decline. The inflammatory response and antioxidant defense system were activated by the upregulation of the NF-kB, NFE2L2, PPARα, cytoprotective capacity, and apoptotic gene pathways during heat stress compared to the thermal neutral group. However, expression levels showed no significant differences between the thermal neutral and heat stress with antioxidant groups, suggesting that astaxanthin may mitigate inflammation and oxidative stress damage.