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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Fayetteville, Arkansas » Poultry Production and Product Safety Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #157371

Title: PROVENTRICULITIS IN THE BROILER CHICKENS: IMMUNOHISTOCHEMCIAL CHARACTERIZATION OF THE LYMPHOCYTES INFILTRATING INTO THE PROVENTRICULAR GLANDS

Author
item PANTIN-JACKWOOD, M - UNIV OF GEORGIA
item BROWN, T - UNIV OF GEORGIA
item Huff, Geraldine

Submitted to: Veterinary Pathology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/2/2004
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Broiler chickens often have a condition called proventriculitis. The proventriculus is the glandular stomach of birds, and when affected by this disease, it appears enlarged and flabby and often ruptures during processing, contaminating the carcass and increasing the number of harmful bacteria on the product. During this disease process, the proventriculus contains a number of different immune cells that do not appear in a healthy proventriculus. In this study, the distribution of certain types of immune cells called T cells (CD3+,CD4+, and CD8+) and B cells in the proventriculus of affected chicken was determined using special staining and microscopy of proventricular tissues. One-day-old commercial boilers were fed a proventricular homogenate produced from broilers with proventriculitis to reproduce this disease. Diseased proventriculus samples were studied at 7, 14 and 21 days postinoculation (dpi). Lymphocyte infiltration in the was observed at all time points, and was most prominent at 14 days postinoculation with well-developed lymphoid aggregates present. Both T and B Lymphocytes were present during acute and chronic proventriculitis, but their distribution varied within the glands. Lymphocytic infiltrates were mainly T cells (CD3+), and were predominantly CD8+ T lymphocytes. CD4+ T cells and B cells tended to form aggregates as the proventriculitis became chronic. These findings show that both cell mediated and humoral immune responses are induced during transmissible proventriculitis, and that the cell mediated immune response is morphologically greater.

Technical Abstract: Broiler chickens with transmissible proventriculitis have severe lymphocytic infiltration in the proventricular glands and the mucosa. The distribution of T cells (CD3+,CD4+, and CD8+) and B cells in the proventriculus of affected chicken was studied immunohistochemically and histopathologically. One-day-old commercial boilers were orally gavaged with a proventricular homogenate produced from broilers with proventriculitis to reproduce this disease. Resulting proventricular lesions were studied at 7, 14 and 21 days postinoculation (dpi). Lymphocytic infiltrates in the proventricular glands and the lamina propria of the mucosa were observed at all time points, and were most prominent at 14 days postinoculation with well-developed lymphoid aggregates present. Both T and B Lymphocytes were present during acute and chronic proventriculitis, but their distribution varied within the glands. Lymphocytic infiltrates in both the proventricular glands and in the lamina propria were mainly T cells (CD3+), and were predominantly CD8+ T lymphocytes. CD4+ T cells and B cells tended to form aggregates as the proventriculitis became chronic. These findings show that both cell mediated and humoral immune responses are induced during transmissible proventriculitis, and that the cell mediated immune response is morphologically greater.