S. van Hemert: "Gene expression profiling of chicken intestinal host responses"

Chicken host responses to infections

Chicken lines differ in susceptibility to infections in the intestine, but genes and proteins involved in disease resistance are not known yet. The aim of this research was to identify genes in the chicken intestine involved in disease susceptibility and to obtain insights into disease mechanisms. For that purpose microarrays were used, with these tools expression levels of thousands of genes can be measured simultaneously. Two different disease models have been investigated, malabsorption syndrome and salmonella. For each model two chicken lines were used, differing in genetic disease susceptibility. Genes were identified differently expressed in response to the infection between the chicken lines. Examples are genes involved in inflammation, acute phase proteins, feed absorption and immune processes. There were also different numbers of immune cells in the intestines of the chickens. So the genetic background of chickens influences gene expression responses related to immunological responses.