Loxoribine pretreatment reduces Salmonella Enteritidis organ invasion in 1-day-old chickens

Young poultry exhibit a transient colonization by some food-borne pathogens, including Salmonella, during the first week of life that stems from immature innate and acquired defense mechanisms. Consequently, modulation of the hosts' natural immune response is emerging as an important area of interest for food animal producers, including the poultry industry. Toll-like receptor (TLR) agonists have been shown to boost the innate immune response in young chickens and increase their resistance to colonization by Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis. The objective of the present study was to determine if pretreatment with loxoribine, a TLR7 agonist and immune modulator, protects young chicks from Salmonella Enteritidis organ invasion. Loxoribine (0-100 μg) was administered intra-abdominally to 1-d-old broiler chicks, and 4 h later, the birds were challenged orally with Salmonella Enteritidis. Twenty-four hours postchallenge, birds were euthanized and the liver and spleen aseptically removed and cultured for Salmonella Enteritidis. This was carried out on 3 separate occasions using 26 to 50 chicks per dose per experiment. Pretreatment of chicks with loxoribine (6.25-25 μg) significantly (P ≤ 0.05) reduced liver and spleen organ invasion by Salmonella Enteritidis. Higher doses (50-100 μg) of loxoribine had no effect. The results obtained in this study indicate that there is a potential application for using loxoribine to increase protection of young chicks when they are most susceptible to infections with Salmonella.