title: Leukocytic responses and intestinal mucin dynamics of broilers protected with Enterococcus faecium EF55 and challenged with Salmonella Enteritidis.
abstract: The protective effect of Enterococcus faecium EF55 in chickens challenged with Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis phage type 4 (SE PT4) was assessed. The antibacterial effect on the bacterial microflora in the small intestine in relation to white blood cell count, phenotyping of peripheral blood and intestinal lymphocytes, functional activity of lymphocytes and phagocytes and mucin quantitation were investigated. Day-old chicks (85) were randomly divided into four groups. The probiotic group (EF) and Salmonella+probiotic group (EFSE) received E. faecium EF55 (10(9) CFU - 3 g/group/day) for 21 days. The Salmonella group (SE) and EFSE group were infected with Salmonella Enteritidis (10(8) CFU in 0.2 ml PBS) in a single dose per os on day four of the experiment. The control group chicks (C) were fed a commercial diet without added bacteria. Supplementation of EF55 in the diet of the chickens in the EFSE group, challenged with S. Enteritidis, caused the density of the intestinal mucin layer to increase significantly in non-specific regions (duodenum and jejunum), but decrease significantly in target regions (caeca) for S. Enteritidis. Probiotic treatment also appeared to result in a significantly higher number of lymphocytes in peripheral blood and a tendency to increase CD3, CD4, CD8, and IgM positive cells 3 days post-infection with S. Enteritidis. The results demonstrated an antibacterial effect and suggested that EF55 had a moderating effect on intestinal mucin production and leukocytic response in the early phase of S. Enteritidis infection.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathological Anatomy, University of Veterinary Medicine, Komenského 73, 041 81 Košice, Slovak Republic.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Levkut
authors.forename: Viera
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Revajová
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lauková
authors.forename: Zuzana
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Ševčíková
authors.forename: Viera
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Spišáková
authors.forename: Zita
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Faixová
authors.forename: Mária
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Levkutová
authors.forename: Viola
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Strompfová
authors.forename: Juraj
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pistl
authors.forename: Mikuláš
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Levkut
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D058491:Bacterial Load / Q000662:veterinary; D002645:Chickens / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology; D019587:Dietary Supplements; D016984:Enterococcus faecium / Q000276:immunology*; D005260:Female; D005434:Flow Cytometry / Q000662:veterinary; D007111:Immunity, Cellular / Q000276:immunology*; D007413:Intestinal Mucosa / Q000276:immunology* / Q000382:microbiology; D007958:Leukocyte Count / Q000662:veterinary; D016131:Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000276:immunology; D009077:Mucins / Q000276:immunology* / Q000502:physiology; D011201:Poultry Diseases / Q000276:immunology* / Q000382:microbiology; D019936:Probiotics; D012481:Salmonella Infections, Animal / Q000276:immunology* / Q000382:microbiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D012477:Salmonella enteritidis / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D009077:Mucins