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ARS Home » Plains Area » College Station, Texas » Southern Plains Agricultural Research Center » Food and Feed Safety Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #413007
Research Project: Immunological and Practical Approaches to Manipulate the Ecological Niches and Reduce Foodborne Pathogens in Poultry

Location: Food and Feed Safety Research

Title: Serum cytokine profile of neonatal broiler chickens infected with Salmonella Typhimurium

Author
item MILBY-BLACKLEDGE, ALLISON - Texas A&M University
item FARNELL, YUHUA - Texas A&M University
item ZHAO, DAN - Texas A&M University
item BERGHMAN, LUC - Texas A&M University
item LAINO, CRAIG - Emd Millipore
item MULLER, MELISSA - Emd Millipore
item Byrd Ii, James - Allen
item FARNELL, MORGAN - Texas A&M University

Submitted to: Frontiers in Physiology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/12/2024
Publication Date: 2/23/2024
Citation: Milby-Blackledge, A., Farnell, Y., Zhao, D., Berghman, L., Laino, C., Muller, M., Byrd II, J.A., Farnell, M. 2024. Serum cytokine profile of neonatal broiler chickens infected with Salmonella Typhimurium. Frontiers in Physiology. 15. Article 1359722. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2024.1359722.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2024.1359722

Interpretive Summary: The bird's immune system produces compounds called cytokines and chemokines that allow the birds to fight food poisoning bacteria (Salmonella); this study investigated 12 cytokines. Meat type chicks were given Salmonella orally, and blood was taken from the birds 24 hours after they were given Salmonella. Birds that were given Salmonella had high concentrations of cytokines that encourage inflammation; these cytokines are interleukin-6 (IL-6), IL-16, and IL-21. In addition, there were increases in anti-inflammatory cytokines. Results from the studies suggest that there is an immune response on the surface of the gastrointestinal tract. The work advances our ongoing research to develop new approaches and protocols to minimize the occurrence of Salmonella and other food poisoning bacteria in poultry products reaching the consumer.

Technical Abstract: The avian immune system responds to Salmonella infection by expressing cytokines and chemokines. We hypothesized that the immune status of Salmonella Typhimurium (ST) challenged neonatal broilers would differ from the uninfected treatment. The objective of this experiment was to evaluate 12 cytokines. Day of hatch male chicks were randomly allocated into a control or ST challenged group. At day three of age, sterile diluent or 5.0 ×10**8 CFU of ST was given orally to each chick. Blood was obtained 24 h post challenge and serum separated for later analysis (n = 30 chicks/treatment). Significant (p = 0.05) increases in pro-inflammatory cytokines-interleukin-6(IL-6), IL-16, and IL-21; anti-inflammatory cytokines- IL-10; chemokines regulated on activation, normal T cell expressed and secreted (RANTES), macrophage inflammatory protein-1ß (MIP-1ß), and MIP-3a; colony stimulating factors-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF); and growth factors-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) were observed in the serum of the challenged chicks when compared to the control. No significant differences were observed in IL-2, interferon gamma (IFN'), and IFNa. These data indicate the detection of mucosal immune responses in broiler chickens following ST infection. The heightened levels of proinflammatory cytokines, chemokines, and colony stimulating factors align with known inflammatory mechanisms, like the influx of immune cells. However, the elevation of IL-10 was unexpected, due to its immunoregulatory properties. Notably, the rise in VEGF levels is compelling, as it suggests the possibility of tissue repair and angiogenesis in ST infected birds.