College of Veterinary Medicine, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon, Republic of Korea.
Multidimensional Genomics Research Center, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon, Republic of Korea.
BMC Vet Res. 2024 Sep 28;20(1):429. doi: 10.1186/s12917-024-04287-2.
Concurrent emerging and reemerging avian infectious diseases cause multiple risk factors in poultry. A body amount studies attempted to understand pathogen-associated immunity in chickens. Recent research has made progress in identifying immune functions in chicken, there are still gaps in knowledge, especially regarding immune responses during infectious diseases. A deeper understanding in chicken immune system is critical for improving disease control strategies and vaccine development.
This study proposes analytical method for chicken splenocytes, enabling the tracking changes in T cells, monocytes, and B cells across three ages. Optimized lymphocyte-activating conditions were suggested using concanavalin A and chicken interleikin-2, which facilitate immune cell activation and proliferation. Next, splenocytes from embryonic day 18, day 5, and day 30 were compared using surface markers and flow cytometry analysis. We observed an increase in T cell subsets, including activated T cells (CD4CD44 and CD8CD44), and B cells, along with a reduced monocyte population after hatching. However, morphological changes and genetic expression of functional immune molecules were limited.
The present findings on chicken immune system development offer valuable insights into the avian immune system, including analytical methods and the phenotypic and functional changes in immune cells. Updated immune-boosting strategies during the early stages of life are crucial for developing preventive measures against major infectious diseases in the poultry industry.
同时出现的新发和再发禽类传染病给家禽带来了多种风险因素。大量研究试图了解鸡体内与病原体相关的免疫。最近的研究在鉴定鸡的免疫功能方面取得了进展，但仍存在知识空白，特别是在传染病期间的免疫反应方面。深入了解鸡的免疫系统对于改进疾病控制策略和疫苗开发至关重要。
本研究提出了一种分析鸡脾细胞的方法，能够跟踪三种不同日龄的 T 细胞、单核细胞和 B 细胞的变化。使用刀豆蛋白 A 和鸡白细胞介素 2 优化了淋巴细胞激活条件，促进了免疫细胞的激活和增殖。然后，使用表面标志物和流式细胞术分析比较了来自胚胎第 18 天、第 5 天和第 30 天的脾细胞。我们观察到孵化后 T 细胞亚群（包括活化的 T 细胞（CD4CD44 和 CD8CD44）和 B 细胞）增加，单核细胞减少。然而，功能免疫分子的形态变化和基因表达有限。
本研究关于鸡免疫系统发育的发现为禽类免疫系统提供了有价值的见解，包括分析方法以及免疫细胞的表型和功能变化。在生命早期更新免疫增强策略对于开发家禽行业重大传染病的预防措施至关重要。
