title: Flow cytometric immune profiling of specific-pathogen-free chickens before and after infectious challenges.
abstract: Broilers and layer chickens have been intensively selected for production parameters. This selection has affected immune capacity. Consequently, the fine-tuning of immune responses is becoming important for maximum productivity. Flow cytometry is a recurrent technology used for the immunophenotyping of birds. Studies, however, have focused on the mechanism of specific diseases or have used animals whose immunological condition could be biased-by vaccination or environmental stressors, for example. The aim of this study was to evaluate the immune status of specific-pathogen-free birds across different age ranges to characterize the natural changes that occur over time. Additionally, specific-pathogen-free chickens were challenged with four infectious agents, allowing identification of the subpopulations of peripheral blood immune cells that are consistently altered under various conditions. Several lymphocyte subsets vary naturally with aging, so the interpretation of results using animals of different age ranges must proceed with care. Parameters such as CD8(+)CD28(-), CD8αα(+), CD4(+)CD8(+), and CD8(+)TCRVβ1(+) have been shown to be valuable in understanding immune changes during disease. The use of these data allows a determination of the consistency of cytometric parameters under various conditions, which should ease the interpretation of immunophenotyping and the future application of cytometric analysis in the poultry industry.
authors: Department of Basic Pathology, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Curitiba, Brazil.
authors: Breno Castello Branco
authors: BC
authors: Beirão
authors: Celso
authors: C
authors: Fávaro
authors: Lia Sumie
authors: LS
authors: Nakao
authors: Luiz Felipe
authors: LF
authors: Caron
authors: Silvio Marques
authors: SM
authors: Zanata
authors: Adriana Frohlich
authors: AF
authors: Mercadante
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000818:Animals; D018175:Birnaviridae Infections / Q000276:immunology / Q000662:veterinary; D002645:Chickens / Q000276:immunology*; D003048:Coccidiosis / Q000276:immunology / Q000662:veterinary; D018352:Coronavirus Infections / Q000276:immunology / Q000662:veterinary; D004539:Eimeria / Q000276:immunology; D005260:Female; D005434:Flow Cytometry / Q000662:veterinary*; D007111:Immunity, Cellular / Q000276:immunology; D016130:Immunophenotyping / Q000662:veterinary; D001351:Infectious bronchitis virus / Q000276:immunology; D007243:Infectious bursal disease virus / Q000276:immunology; D011201:Poultry Diseases / Q000276:immunology*; D012016:Reference Values; D012481:Salmonella Infections, Animal / Q000276:immunology; D012477:Salmonella enteritidis / Q000276:immunology