Passive immunization against<i>Histomonas meleagridis</i>does not protect turkeys from an experimental infection

Bleyen, Nele; Ons, Ellen; Gussem, M. de; Goddeeris, Bruno

doi:10.1080/03079450802641255

Cited by 24 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…It has been shown previously that the presence of circulating antibodies against H. meleagridis is not able to protect birds from the disease (Clarkson, 1963; Hess , 2008;Bleyen et al, 2009). In turkeys there was a correlation between levels of antibody and virulence of the parasite, similar to the present study (Windisch & Hess, 2009).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

Vaccination against histomonosis prevents a drop in egg production in layers following challenge

et al. 2013

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The effect of attenuated Histomonas meleagridis on pullets was investigated and the protection of vaccinated adult laying hens against a severe challenge was studied in the same experimental setting. Four groups of 25 pullets were set up at 18 weeks of life and birds in two groups were vaccinated with in vitro-attenuated H. meleagridis. Chickens in two groups (vaccinated and non-vaccinated) were challenged 5 weeks later with virulent histomonads, while the remaining groups were retained until termination of the study 11 weeks post vaccination. Vaccination of pullets did not have any impact on their subsequent performance. Egg production of non-vaccinated but challenged birds dropped significantly (P ≤ 0.05) between 2 and 4 weeks post challenge (p.c.) to 58.7%, compared with 90% in control chickens. At 4 weeks p.c., the drop in egg production in vaccinated and challenged birds was significantly lower (P=0.02) than in non-protected layers. Pathological changes were found only in challenged birds 2 and 6 weeks p.c. Several non-vaccinated birds showed severe lesions in the caeca with sporadic involvement of the liver and atrophy of the reproductive tract. Vaccination prior to challenge reduced the incidence of pathological findings. For the first time, vaccination of pullets with in vitro-attenuated histomonads could be shown to be an effective and safe prophylactic tool to prevent a severe drop in egg production of commercial layers following experimental infection.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

Vaccination against histomonosis prevents a drop in egg production in layers following challenge

et al. 2013

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“…He concluded that protective immunity against histomonosis must be produced by a serum factor, leukocytes or local immunity of the caecal mucosa. In agreement with his observations, Hess et al (2008) and Bleyen et al (2009b) were unable to protect turkeys with killed histomonads. In contrast to this, we could achieve full protection from fatal histomonosis by vaccination using a well-defined clonal culture of in vitro attenuated histomonads in turkeys .…”

Section: Investigations On Vaccination Against Histomonosissupporting

confidence: 87%

Histomonosis in poultry: previous and current strategies for prevention and therapy

et al. 2016

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Histomonosis is a parasitic disease of poultry with worldwide prevalence. The disease can cause morbidity and mortality in chicken and turkey flocks entailing severe economic losses. In the first half of the last century, there was a high demand to control histomonosis as the turkey industry was severely affected by the disease. Consequently, numerous chemical compounds were tested for their efficacy against Histomonas meleagridis with varying outcomes, that are summarized and specified in this review. At the same time, preliminary attempts to protect birds with cultured histomonads indicated the possibility of vaccination. Several years ago antihistomonal drugs were banned in countries with tight regulations on pharmaceuticals in order to comply with the demand of consumer protection. As a consequence, outbreaks of histomonosis in poultry flocks increased and the disease became endemic again. New approaches to prevent and treat histomonosis are, therefore, needed and recently performed studies focused on various areas to combat the disease, from alternative chemotherapeutic substances to plant-derived compounds until vaccination, altogether reviewed here. Considering existing regulations and the overall outcome of experimental studies, it can be concluded that vaccination is very promising, despite the fact that various challenges need to be addressed until the first ever developed vaccine based upon live flagellates in human or bird medicine can be marketed.

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“…Only a few studies investigated the immune system of poultry in response to virulent H. meleagridis ( 8 ). It could be demonstrated that the level of serum antibody in turkeys may not be a key component in the protection against the parasite as passive immunization using immune sera or active immunization with killed vaccines failed to protect turkeys during challenge ( 5 , 9 , 10 ). However, local antibodies were measured in different parts of the intestine of infected chickens, a host species more resistant to fatal histomonosis, leading to the speculation that mucosal antibodies might be components that contribute toward protection ( 11 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Allocation of Interferon Gamma mRNA Positive Cells in Caecum Hallmarks a Protective Trait Against Histomonosis

et al. 2018

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Histomonosis is a parasitic disease of gallinaceous birds characterized by necrotic lesions in cacum and liver that usually turns fatal in turkeys while it is less severe in chickens. Vaccination using in vitro attenuated Histomonas meleagridis has been experimentally shown to confer protection against histomonosis. The protective mechanisms that underpin the vaccine-induced immune response are not resolved so far. Therefore, the actual study aimed to evaluate the location and quantitative distribution patterns of signature cytokines of type 1 [interferon gamma (IFN-γ)] or type 2 [interleukin (IL)-13] immune responses in vaccinated or infected hosts. An intergroup and interspecies difference in the spatial and temporal distribution patterns of cytokine mRNA positive cells was evident. Quantification of cells showed a significantly decreased percentage of IFN-γ mRNA positive cells at 4 days post-inoculation (DPI) in caeca of turkeys inoculated exclusively with the attenuated or the virulent inocula, compared to control birds. The decrement was followed by a surge of cells expressing mRNA for IFN-γ or IL-13, reaching a peak of increment at 10 DPI. By contrast, turkeys challenged following vaccination showed a slight increment of cecal IFN-γ mRNA positive cells at 4 DPI after which positive cell counts became comparable to control birds. The increase in infected birds was accompanied by an extensive distribution of positively stained cells up to the muscularis layer of cecal tissue whereas the vaccine group maintained an intact mucosal structure. In chickens, the level of changes of positive cells was generally lower compared to turkeys. However, control chickens were found with a higher percentage of IFN-γ mRNA positive cells in cecum compared to their turkey counterparts indicating a higher resistance to histomonosis, similar to the observation in immunized turkeys. In chickens, it could be shown that the changes of cytokine-positive cells were related to variations of mononuclear cells quantified by immunofluorescence. Furthermore, gene expression measured by reverse transcription quantitative real time PCR confirmed variations in organs between the different groups of both bird species. Overall, it can be concluded that a proportionally increased, yet controlled, allocation of IFN-γ mRNA positive cells in caeca hallmarks a protective trait against histomonosis.

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Passive immunization againstHistomonas meleagridisdoes not protect turkeys from an experimental infection

Cited by 24 publications

References 10 publications

Vaccination against histomonosis prevents a drop in egg production in layers following challenge

Vaccination against histomonosis prevents a drop in egg production in layers following challenge

Histomonosis in poultry: previous and current strategies for prevention and therapy

Allocation of Interferon Gamma mRNA Positive Cells in Caecum Hallmarks a Protective Trait Against Histomonosis

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