Analysis of chicken intestinal natural killer cells, a major IEL subset during embryonic and early life
Meijerink, Nathalie; van Haarlem, Daphne A.; Velkers, Francisca C.; Stegeman, Arjan J.; Rutten, Victor P.M.G.; Jansen, Christine A.
(2021) Developmental and Comparative Immunology, volume 114, pp. 1 - 11
(Article)
Abstract
Restrictions on antimicrobials demand alternative strategies to improve broiler health, such as supplying feed additives which stimulate innate immune cells like natural killer (NK) cells. The main objective of this study was to characterize intestinal NK cells in broiler chickens during embryonic and early life and compare these to NK
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cells in spleen, blood and bone marrow. Also T-cell subsets were determined. The majority of intestinal NK cells expressed IL-2Rα rather than 20E5 and 5C7, and showed low level of activation. Within intestinal NK cells the activation marker CD107 was mostly expressed on IL-2Rα+ cells while in spleen and blood 20E5+ NK cells primarily expressed CD107. High percentages of intestinal CD8αα+, CD8αβ+ and from 2 weeks onward also gamma delta T cells were found. Taken together, we observed several intestinal NK subsets in broiler chickens. Differences in NK subsets were mostly observed between organs, rather than differences over time. Targeting these intestinal NK subsets may be a strategy to improve immune-mediated resistance in broiler chickens.
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Keywords: Broiler chickens, IEL, Innate immunity, Intraepithelial lymphocytes, NK cells, Immunology, Developmental Biology
ISSN: 0145-305X
Publisher: Elsevier Limited
Note: Funding Information: This work is part of the research programme NWO Earth and Life Sciences (ALW) with project number 868.15.020, which is financed by the Dutch Research Council (NWO) and by Cargill Animal Nutrition and Health . We thank the animal caretakers of the department Population Health Sciences, division Farm Animal Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, for their help during the animal experiments. We thank R.H.G.A. van den Biggelaar for his help during the isolation of immune cells. We thank the Dutch Molecular Pathology Center (DMPC), Department Biomolecular Health Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, for the immunohistochemistry analysis and G.J.A. Arkesteijn for maintaining optimal working conditions of the Flow Cytometry and Cell Sorting Facility, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University. Funding Information: This work is part of the research programme NWO Earth and Life Sciences (ALW) with project number 868.15.020, which is financed by the Dutch Research Council (NWO) and by Cargill Animal Nutrition and Health. We thank the animal caretakers of the department Population Health Sciences, division Farm Animal Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, for their help during the animal experiments. We thank R.H.G.A. van den Biggelaar for his help during the isolation of immune cells. We thank the Dutch Molecular Pathology Center (DMPC), Department Biomolecular Health Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, for the immunohistochemistry analysis and G.J.A. Arkesteijn for maintaining optimal working conditions of the Flow Cytometry and Cell Sorting Facility, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University. Publisher Copyright: © 2020 The Authors
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