Immune responses to vaccination and infection with Mycoplasma gallisepticum in turkeys

Abstract

Infection with Mycoplasma gallisepticum induces severe lymphoproliferative lesions in multiple sites along the respiratory tract in chickens and turkeys. These immunopathological responses have been well-characterized in chickens, but have not been studied closely in turkeys. The aim of the study described here was to examine the immune responses of turkeys after live vaccination and infection with M. gallisepticum. In a strain comparison study, the mean log antibody titre of birds exposed to an aerosol culture of M. gallisepticum strain Ap3AS was found to be significantly higher at day 14 than that of birds exposed to strain 100809/31. In a dose-response study, there was a significant difference in the mean log antibody titre between birds exposed to mycoplasma broth and birds exposed to the highest dose of strain Ap3AS at day 7 after exposure. Immunohistochemical analysis of the tracheal mucosa and the air sacs revealed similar patterns of distribution of CD4 and CD8 lymphocytes to those seen in the tracheal mucosa of chickens, implicating these cell types in the pathogenesis of respiratory mycoplasmosis in turkeys. Turkeys that had been vaccinated with M. gallisepticum GapA ts-11 had significantly higher antibody titres than unvaccinated birds at both 7 and 14 days after challenge with strain Ap3AS. Vaccination with GapA ts-11 protected against the lymphoproliferative response to infection with virulent M. gallisepticum in both the tracheal mucosa and the air sacs, suggesting that this strain may be a useful vaccine candidate for use in turkeys.

Comparative studies between pefloxacin and tiamulin against mycoplasma in turkey

“…Infected poults with MG revealed insignificant decrease in IgA, IgG and IgM allover experimental period post infection Mycoplasma infection induced reduction in immune-globulin (Romero et al, 2001). Same change in immunoglobulin was reported by Wijesurendra et al (2017) in poults infected with MG.…”

Transcriptomic Analysis of Long-Term Protective Immunity Induced by Vaccination With Mycoplasma gallisepticum Strain ts-304

“…A GapA + clone, strain ts-304, has been isolated from ts-11 and has been shown to be as safe in chickens as the ts-11 strain from which it was derived, and as effective, but at a lower dose ( 21 , 22 ). The ts-304 vaccine has also been shown to colonize the trachea of turkeys and protect against experimental challenge with the M. gallisepticum wild-type strain Ap3AS ( 23 , 24 ).…”

Current status of vaccine research, development, and challenges of vaccines for Mycoplasma gallisepticum

“…Research demonstrated that MG vaccination in turkeys and chickens produced a high antibody titer including increased CD4 + and CD8 + expressing lymphocytes in trachea. This suggested that these cells contributing toward the pathogenesis of the disease ( Wijesurendra et al., 2017 ). Therefore, agents which enhance the production of humoral immune response including lymphocytes production could be considered for the possible protection trial of MG infection in future studies.…”