No abstract

increase in IL-2Rα + NK cells and enhanced NK cell activation. The observed association between early life development of intestinal microbiota and immune system indicates possibilities to apply microbiota-targeted strategies that can accelerate maturation of intestinal microbiota and strengthen the immune system, thereby improving the health and resilience of broiler chickens.

Salmonella enterica serotype Enteritidis (SE) is a zoonotic pathogen which causes foodborne diseases in humans as well as severe disease symptoms in young chickens. More insight in innate and adaptive immune responses of chickens to SE infection is needed to understand elimination of SE. Seven-day-old broiler chickens were experimentally challenged with SE and numbers and responsiveness of innate and adaptive immune cells as well as antibody titers were assessed. SE was observed in the ileum and spleen of SE-infected chickens at 7 days post-infection (dpi). At 1 dpi numbers of intraepithelial cytotoxic CD8+ T cells were significantly increased alongside numerically increased intraepithelial IL-2Rα+ and 20E5+ natural killer (NK) cells at 1 and 3 dpi. At both time points, activation of intraepithelial and splenic NK cells was significantly enhanced. At 7 dpi in the spleen, presence of macrophages and expression of activation markers on dendritic cells were significantly increased. At 21 dpi, SE-induced proliferation of splenic CD4+ and CD8+ T cells was observed and SE-specific antibodies were detected in sera of all SE-infected chickens. In conclusion, SE results in enhanced numbers and activation of innate cells and we hypothesized that in concert with subsequent specific T cell and antibody responses, reduction of SE is achieved. A better understanding of innate and adaptive immune responses important in the elimination of SE will aid in developing immune-modulation strategies, which may increase resistance to SE in young broiler chickens.

Restrictions on the use of antibiotics in the poultry industry stimulate the development of alternative nutritional solutions to maintain or improve poultry health. This requires more insight in the modulatory effects of feed additives on the immune system and microbiota composition. Compounds known to influence the innate immune system and microbiota composition were selected and screened in vitro, in ovo, and in vivo. Among all compounds, 57 enhanced NK cell activation, 56 increased phagocytosis, and 22 increased NO production of the macrophage cell line HD11 in vitro. Based on these results, availability and regulatory status, six compounds were selected for further analysis. None of these compounds showed negative effects on growth, hatchability, and feed conversion in in ovo and in vivo studies. Based on the most interesting numerical results and highest future potential feasibility, two compounds were analyzed further. Administration of glucose oligosaccharide and long-chain glucomannan in vivo both enhanced activation of intraepithelial NK cells and led to increased relative abundance of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) amongst ileum and ceca microbiota after seven days of supplementation. Positive correlations between NK cell subsets and activation, and relative abundance of LAB suggest the involvement of microbiota in the modulation of the function of intraepithelial NK cells. This study identifies glucose oligosaccharide and long-chain glucomannan supplementation as effective nutritional strategies to modulate the intestinal microbiota composition and strengthen the intraepithelial innate immune system.

Salmonella enterica serotype Enteritidis (SE) is a zoonotic pathogen which causes foodborne diseases in humans through contaminated poultry products, as well as severe disease symptoms in young chickens. More insight in innate and adaptive immune responses of chickens to SE infection is needed to understand elimination of SE. Seven-day-old broiler chickens were experimentally challenged with SE and numbers and responsiveness of innate immune cells including natural killer (NK) cells, macrophages and dendritic cells (DCs) were assessed during 21 days post-infection (dpi). In parallel, numbers and function of γδ T cells, CD8+ and CD4+ T cells as well as antibody titres were determined. SE was observed in the intestine and spleen of SE-infected chickens at 7 dpi. NK and T cells responded first to SE at 1 and 3 dpi as indicated by increased numbers of intestinal IL-2Rα+ and 20E5+ NK cells, in addition to enhanced activation of intestinal and splenic NK cells. At 7 dpi in the spleen, the presence of macrophages and the expression of activation markers on DCs was increased. At 21 dpi, an increase in intestinal γδ and CD8+ T cell numbers was observed. Furthermore, SE-specific proliferation of splenic CD4+ and CD8+ T cells was observed and SE-specific antibodies were detected in all blood samples of SE-infected chickens. In conclusion, SE results in enhanced numbers and activation of innate cells during early stages of infection and it is hypothesized that in concert with subsequent specific T cell and antibody responses, reduction of SE in infected chickens is achieved. A better understanding of innate and adaptive immune responses important in the elimination of SE will aid in developing immune-modulation strategies, which may increase resistance and prevent SE infection and colonization in young broiler chickens and hence increase food safety for humans.Author summarySalmonella enterica serotype Enteritidis (SE) causes foodborne zoonotic diseases in humans, as well as a severe disease in young chickens. As a consequence of which health and welfare of humans and chickens are affected, resulting in substantial economic losses. To enable development of immune-mediated prevention strategies in chickens, more insight in the immune responses to SE is needed to understand how the infection is eliminated. For this purpose, we investigated non-specific and specific immune responses upon experimental SE infection in young broiler chickens. In this study, we found SE in the intestine and spleen of SE-infected chickens at 7 days post-infection (dpi). We show that natural killer (NK) cells respond first by enhanced presence and activation, followed by increased presence of macrophages and activation of dendritic cells. These early responses are hypothesized to stimulate the observed subsequent specific T cell and antibody responses. Better understanding of immune responses important in the elimination of SE will aid in developing immune-modulation strategies, which may increase resistance and prevent SE infection and colonization in young chickens and hence reduce SE-related foodborne illness in humans.