title: Immunocompetences and Marek's disease resistance in three pairs of chicken lines selected for different immunological characters.
abstract: Three pairs of chicken lines selected for high (H) and low (L) graft vs. host reaction (GVHR) competences, serum immunoglobulin G (IgG) levels, and antibody responses to Leucocytozoon caulleryi were examined for their immunocompetences and Marek's disease (MD) resistance. The GVHR-H and GVHR-L lines were further divided into two sublines according to their major histocompatibility B genotype. Immune responses to sheep erythrocytes (SRBC), bovine serum albumin (BSA), and a lipopolysaccharide (LPS) were compared between the high and low lines of each pair of selected lines. Significant differences were found in responses to SRBC and LPS in IgG-selected lines and in response to BSA in Leucocytozoon-selected lines. In all three instances antibody titers of the H line were higher than those of the L line. The GVHR competence expressed by the splenomegaly index (SI) was also significantly different between the H and L lines of all three selected-line pairs. The SI values in the GVHR-selected and IgG-selected lines were higher in the H line than in the L line, whereas those in the Leucocytozoon-selected lines were lower in the H line. Differences in MD incidence and in MD mortality were found between the GVHR-selected B11B11 subline and the IgG-selected lines. In both instances the L line was more resistant to MD than the H line.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002645:Chickens / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D007113:Immunity, Innate; D007121:Immunocompetence; D008297:Male; D008380:Marek Disease / Q000276:immunology*; D011200:Poultry; D012641:Selection, Genetic; D013045:Species Specificity