title: Major histocompatibility complex effect on cellulitis among different chicken lines.
abstract: The chicken major histocompatibility complex (MHC) has been implicated in conferring resistance/susceptibility to several bacterial, parasitic, and viral diseases. Investigators have shown that the chicken MHC plays a major role in determining the outcome of a Marek's disease infection, in that standard B(13) is susceptible to the virus while B(21) confers resistance to the virus. Previous work with a broiler line has shown that B(21) is susceptible to an Escherichia coli-induced cellulitis infection and that B(13) conferred resistance to the infection. For this experiment, a broiler and a Leghorn chicken line shown to contain standard B(13) and B(21) were examined in a challenge model for cellulitis. The birds were challenged with a cellulitis-causing E. coli isolate. Homozygous B(21) had the highest incidence of cellulitis development compared with either homozygous B(13) or the heterozygous B(13)/B(21) for both the broiler and Leghorn lines. Additionally, cellulitis lesion severity was measured in both lines and shown to be independent of MHC type.
authors.affiliation: Department of Poultry Science, and Department of Pathobiology, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849-5416, USA.
authors.forename: K S
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Macklin
authors.forename: S J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Ewald
authors.forename: R A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Norton
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002481:Cellulitis / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology / Q000662:veterinary*; D002645:Chickens / Q000276:immunology*; D008285:Major Histocompatibility Complex; D008380:Marek Disease / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000473:pathology; D011201:Poultry Diseases / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D013045:Species Specificity