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Influence of chicken serum mannose-binding lectin levels on the immune response towards Escherichia coli

L. R. Norup^*,1, T. S. Dalgaard^*, N. C. Friggens^*, P. Sørensen and H. R. Juul-Madsen^*

^* Department of Animal Health, Welfare and Nutrition, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, University of Aarhus, PO Box 50, DK-8830 Tjele, Denmark; and Department of Genetics and Biotechnology, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, University of Aarhus, PO Box 50, DK-8830 Tjele, Denmark

¹ Corresponding author: LiselotteR.Norup{at}agrsci.dk

This study aimed to investigate the effect of mannose-binding lectin (MBL) on infections with Escherichia coli in chickens. Initially, the basic levels of MBL in 4 different lines of layer chickens, namely ISA Brown, Lohmann Selected Leghorn, Lohmann Braun, and Hellevad, were investigated. This investigation revealed a 2-to 3-fold difference in the basic levels of MBL in serum between some of these commercial lines. Furthermore, the ontogeny of the basic level of MBL in serum of an experimental chicken line was investigated. The level of MBL was very stabile for long periods, with an elevation at 5 to 7 wk of age. Another elevation in MBL level started around 18 to 19 wk of age and stayed elevated at least until 38 wk of age. In this study, it was hypothesized that chickens with high levels of MBL (H-type) may be less prone to disease caused by E. coli infection than chickens with low levels of MBL (L-type) after attempts were made to immunosuppress the chickens by immunization with a live attenuated infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV) vaccine strain. The H-type and L-type chickens were divided into 4 groups receiving either no treatment (I–E–), E. coli alone (I–E+), IBDV alone (I+E–), or IBDV and E. coli (I+E+). Body weight gain was depressed by IBDV immunization as well as E. coli inoculation. The depression of BW gain was significantly larger in L-type chickens compared with H-type chickens. The antibody response to E. coli was significantly depressed by IBDV vaccination and antibody titers to E. coli were elevated by experimental E. coli inoculation, but only in the group not given IBDV (I–E– vs. I–E+). On d 28, T-cell responses in L-type chickens showed a lower percentage of proliferating CD4+ and CD8+ T cells compared with the H-type, regardless of treatment. In conclusion, immune reactions toward infections with E. coli differed between chickens having different basal serum MBL levels, and as such, MBL may be of importance for future selection of more robust chickens for outdoor or organic farming.

Key Words: mannose-binding lectin • ontogeny • Escherichia coli • chicken