B lymphocytes play a limited role in clearance of Campylobacter jejuni from the chicken intestinal tract.
Campylobacter jejuni is the leading cause of foodborne bacterial gastroenteritis with contaminated poultry meat its main source. Control of C. jejuni is a priority for the poultry industry but no vaccines are available and their development hampered by poor understanding of the immunobiology of C. jejuni infection. Here we show the functional role of B lymphocytes in response to C. jejuni in the chicken through depletion of the B lymphocyte population (bursectomy) followed by challenge. B lymphocyte depletion has little effect on bacterial numbers in the ceca, the main site of colonisation, where C. jejuni persist to beyond commercial slaughter age, but reduces clearance from the small intestine. In longer-term experiments we show antibody leads to reduction in C. jeuni numbers in the ceca by nine weeks post infection. Whilst we did not examine any protective role to re-challenge, it illustrates the difficulty in producing a vaccine in a young, immunologically naïve host. We believe this is first study of functional immunity to C. jejuni in chicken and shows antibody is ineffective in clearing C. jejuni from the ceca within the production lifetime of chickens, although is involved in clearance from the small intestine and longer-term clearance from the ceca.
Institute for Infection and Global Health and School of Veterinary Science, University of Liverpool. Leahurst Campus, Neston, CH64 7TE, UK.
Lizeth
L
Lacharme-Lora
Institute for Infection and Global Health and School of Veterinary Science, University of Liverpool. Leahurst Campus, Neston, CH64 7TE, UK.
Gemma
G
Chaloner
Institute for Infection and Global Health and School of Veterinary Science, University of Liverpool. Leahurst Campus, Neston, CH64 7TE, UK.
Rachel
R
Gilroy
Institute for Infection and Global Health and School of Veterinary Science, University of Liverpool. Leahurst Campus, Neston, CH64 7TE, UK.
Suzanne
S
Humphrey
Institute for Infection and Global Health and School of Veterinary Science, University of Liverpool. Leahurst Campus, Neston, CH64 7TE, UK.
Kirsty
K
Gibbs
Institute for Infection and Global Health and School of Veterinary Science, University of Liverpool. Leahurst Campus, Neston, CH64 7TE, UK.
Sue
S
Jopson
Institute for Infection and Global Health and School of Veterinary Science, University of Liverpool. Leahurst Campus, Neston, CH64 7TE, UK.
Elli
E
Wright
Institute for Research on the Environment and Sustainability, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU, UK.
William
W
Reid
Department of Genetics, University of Leicester, Leicester LE1 7RH, UK.
Julian
J
Ketley
Medical School, Swansea University, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK.
Tom
T
Humphrey
Institute for Infection and Global Health and School of Veterinary Science, University of Liverpool. Leahurst Campus, Neston, CH64 7TE, UK.
Nicola
N
Williams
Institute for Research on the Environment and Sustainability, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU, UK.
Steven
S
Rushton
Institute for Infection and Global Health and School of Veterinary Science, University of Liverpool. Leahurst Campus, Neston, CH64 7TE, UK.
Paul
P
Wigley
D000818:Animals; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000276:immunology; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D002169:Campylobacter Infections / Q000276:immunology* / Q000382:microbiology*; D016123:Campylobacter jejuni / Q000276:immunology*; D002645:Chickens; D007136:Immunoglobulins / Q000276:immunology; D007413:Intestinal Mucosa / Q000276:immunology* / Q000382:microbiology*; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism
D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; C016512:IgY; D007136:Immunoglobulins