Abstract
BackgroundCryptosporidium baileyi is the dominant Cryptosporidium species in birds causing emerging health problems in the poultry industry, and is also a model to study the biology of Cryptosporidium spp.. IL-17 (also called IL-17A) is a hallmark pro-inflammatory cytokine of Th17 cells that plays an important role in several human autoimmune diseases and microbial infection disease of many animals, and it may play a role in Cryptosporidium infection.MethodsThe present study examined the mRNA level of IL-17 and Th17 response relative cytokines in the trachea and spleen of C. baileyi-infected chickens at different time points using real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR).ResultsAll examined cytokines in the trachea were up-regulated in the infected chickens compared with the uninfected control during C. baileyi infection. Significant increased IL-17 mRNA level in the trachea was observed as early as 12 h post infection (pi), peaking at 24 h pi and 10 d pi, and declining thereafter. The transcription levels of IL-17 and Th17 response relative cytokines in spleen were also significantly increased at different time points during the infection.ConclusionsIL-17 was indicated to participate in the induction of inflammation during infection of some intracellular protozoan parasites. The results in the present study suggest that IL-17 may play a role in immunity against Cryptosporidium infection, and provide basic information for determining the role of Th17 cell in Cryptosporidium infection.
Highlights
Cryptosporidium baileyi is the dominant Cryptosporidium species in birds causing emerging health problems in the poultry industry, and is a model to study the biology of Cryptosporidium spp
Intestinal epithelial cells (IECs), natural killer (NK) cells, phagocytes, dendritic cells (DCs), interferon-γ, nitric oxide and the complement system play some protective roles at the beginning of infection [9]
To determine the law of oocyst shedding by infected chickens, fecal samples were collected and examined daily post infection by oocyst counting according to the method described by Gao et al [40]
Summary
Cryptosporidium baileyi is the dominant Cryptosporidium species in birds causing emerging health problems in the poultry industry, and is a model to study the biology of Cryptosporidium spp. Previous studies have suggested that host resistance against C. parvum infection is established through both innate and adaptive immune responses [8,9]. C. parvum infections of murine, bovine, and humans suggested an important role for T cell-derived cytokines in the recovery from Cryptosporidium infection [9,10,11,12]. The importance of CD4+ T cells in immunity to Cryptosporidium infection has been demonstrated in murine infection models of C. parvum [9,13,14]. Subsequent findings demonstrated that both Th1 and Th2 cells have roles in controlling C. parvum infection, and there is a strong Th1 response during early infection but the later maturation of a more balanced response with a Th2 component may facilitate parasite removal [7,14]. An infection study using a knock out mouse model revealed that hosts lacking IFN-γ and IL-4 could still eliminate the parasites [15]
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