Effects of dietary betaine on the secretion of insulin-like growth factor-I and insulin-like growth factor binding protein-1 and -3 in laying hens

The principal objective of this experiment was to determine the effects of dietary betaine on IGF-I, IGFBP-3 and IGFBP-I secretion and IGF-I mRNA gene expression in the serum and liver of laying hens. A total of 72 ISA-Brown laying hens were fed with four different levels of betaine (0, 300, 600, 1,200 ppm) based on a corn-soybean meal diet containing 2,800 kcal/kg of metabolizable energy (ME) and 16% crude protein (CP) for four weeks. The results indicated significantly higher serum and liver IGF-I concentrations in the laying hens fed with 600 and 1,200 ppm betaine (p<0.05) compared to controls. IGF-I gene expression in liver showed a statistically correlated increase in 600 and 1,200 ppm betaine-fed groups as compared to the controls (p<0.05). Serum IGFBP3 concentrations were elevated significantly in the groups fed 600 ppm of betaine. However, the secretion of IGFBP-I in the liver of laying hens fed on 600 and 1,200 ppm of betaine was significantly lower than in the controls (p<0.05). The results of this experiment showed that dietary betaine supplementation plays a pivotal role in changes of the IGFs system in laying hens.