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Title: COMPARISON OF TRANSCRIPTIONAL RESPONSES FROM AVIAN GUT TISSUES AFTER E. ACERVULINA AND E. MAXIMA INFECTIONS USING cDNA MICROARRAY TECHNOLOGY

Author
item KIM, CHUL - VIS SCI ANRI, ARS
item Lillehoj, Hyun
item KEELER, CALVIN - UNIV OF DE NEWARK,DE

Submitted to: Developmental Biology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/20/2008
Publication Date: 9/2/2008
Citation: Kim, C.H., Lillehoj, H.S., Keeler, C.L. 2008. Comparison of transcriptional responses from avian gut tissues after E. acervulina and E. maxima infections using cdna microarray technology. Developmental Biology. 132:131-140.

Interpretive Summary: The apicomplexan protozoa Eimeria causes avian coccidiosis, a major parasitic disease of poultry. The growth and feed utilization of infected birds are seriously impaired by coccidiosis resulting in huge economical loss and current disease control methods are depend on chemoprophylaxis or immunization with vaccines. However, novel control methods are required because of restriction of anti-coccidial drugs and the high costs of new vaccine/drug development. Recent advancement of technologies in functional genomics and systemic biology can provide the answers for this requirement. Under this consideration, ARS scientists have utilized microarray technology to elucidate host global transcriptional responses and protective immune mechanisms during avian coccidiosis. Using the intestinal intraepithelial lymphocyte cDNA microarray (AVIELA) that is specified for mucosal immunity, this study demonstrates that this array effectively identified modified transcriptional responses following primary or secondary infections with EA and EM. During primary or secondary infection with EA or EM infections, almost unique functional changes of host transcriptional response were occurred in primary EA infection, and the gene functions were associated with lipid/fatty acid/steroid metabolism, T-cell activation, and cytoskeletal regulation, indicating unique host transcriptional responses against primary EA infection. This study clearly demonstrate the importance of poultry genomics in basic studies and shows that the 9.6K AVIELA array provides valuable information on host transcriptional regulation against pathogen invasion in the gut, expanding our knowledge and enhancing our understanding on chicken-coccidia interactions.

Technical Abstract: Understanding the host response during pathogen infection will extend our knowledge of pathogenesis and enhance the development of novel preventive methodologies against important infectious diseases. In the current study, we developed 9.6K avian intestinal intraepithelial lymphocyte cDNA microarray (AVIELA) to compare transcriptional profiles following primary and secondary infection with E. acervulina (EA) or E. maxima (EM). Geneontology analyses showed that EA infection was responsible for induction of lipid metabolism and intracellular trafficking genes. EM infection up-regulated protein biosynthesis and metabolism genes, and down-regulated apoptosis-related gene. In addition, primary EA infection significantly modulated signal pathway genes involved in T-cell activation and cytoskeletal regulation. The AVIELA array provides valuable information on host transcriptional regulation against pathogen invasion in the gut to expand our knowledge on chicken-coccidia interactions.