Sanitary conditions modulate proinflammatory cytokine response of broilers

Area of Science:

• Animal immunology
• Poultry science
• Environmental microbiology

Background:

• Sanitary conditions significantly impact animal health, affecting adaptive immunity and body weight.
• Low sanitary conditions (LSC), characterized by high antigenic pressure, have been linked to reduced weight gain and elevated natural antibody levels in livestock.
• Understanding how environmental factors modulate immune responses is crucial for animal welfare and productivity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the influence of sanitary conditions on the inflammatory immune response in broilers.
• To compare the in vivo and ex vivo immune responses of broilers raised under low sanitary conditions (LSC) versus high sanitary conditions (HSC) following a lipopolysaccharide (LPS) challenge.

Main Methods:

• Broiler chickens were housed under either LSC or HSC.
• A respiratory challenge with lipopolysaccharides (LPS) was administered to both groups.
• Cytokine levels (Interferon-gamma, IL-10, IL-12p40) were measured in plasma and monocyte culture supernatants before and after LPS challenge.

Main Results:

• Broilers under LSC exhibited higher systemic interferon (IFN)-γ levels post-LPS challenge compared to HSC.
• Monocytes from LSC broilers produced more IL-10 and less IL-12p40, leading to higher IL-10:IL-12 ratios.
• A lower IL-10 level was observed in LSC broilers at 48 hours post-LPS challenge.

Conclusions:

• LSC significantly modulates the broiler immune response, inducing a stronger anti-inflammatory profile (elevated IL-10) to LPS challenges.
• The precise mechanisms underlying this immune modulation in LSC require further elucidation.
• The long-term consequences of this enhanced anti-inflammatory response on susceptibility to future infections in broilers remain to be determined.