Analysis of local innate immune response to Eimeria acervulina using chicken intestinal cDNA microarray

Abstract

Intestinal intraepithelial lymphocytes (IELs) are the primary immune effector cells in the gut involved in innate immune response to Eimeria, the etiologic agent of avian coccidiosis. In this study, a library of genes expressed by intestinal IELs of Eimeria‐infected chickens was constructed using the expressed sequence tag (EST) strategy and was used to analyze gene expression profiles during primary or secondary Eimeria acervulina infections. The avian intestinal IEL cDNA microarray (AVIELA) contained duplicates of 9,668 individual ESTs, of which 5,872 contained at least one replicate spot that provided high quality, analyzable data. Following primary infection with E. acervulina, the expression levels of 74 genes were significantly altered compared with the uninfected controls. Gene function analysis indicated that many of the modulated genes were related to innate and adaptive immune responses (interleukin signaling, TLR signaling, antigen presentation, apoptosis). Duodenum RNA samples obtained at various times after infection was obtained and Gene Ontology analysis revealed that the genes related to apoptosis, immune response, host‐pathogen interaction, cell growth, and cell communication were significantly altered in their expression following both primary and secondary infections. The results of our high‐throughput gene expression analysis of intestinal cDNA microarray provide for the first time comprehensive understanding of host‐pathogen interaction in the duodenum following E. acervulina.