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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Fayetteville, Arkansas » Poultry Production and Product Safety Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #418741
Research Project: Multi-hurdle Approaches for Controlling Foodborne Pathogens in Poultry

Location: Poultry Production and Product Safety Research

Title: Functional and structural characterization of the enteric nervous system in broiler chickens: the inner intestinal barrier of defense against foodborne pathogens

Author
item Caputi, Valentina
item Donoghue, Ann
item Lyte, Joshua

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/4/2024
Publication Date: 11/10/2024
Citation: Caputi, V., Donoghue, A.M., Lyte, J.M. 2024. Functional and structural characterization of the enteric nervous system in broiler chickens: the inner intestinal barrier of defense against foodborne pathogens. Abstract. 2024 Symposium on Gut Health in Production of Food Animals, St. Louis, MO. Nov 10-13, 2024.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: In the gastrointestinal tract, the mucosal epithelium serves as a defensive barrier against bacterial translocation and its function is finely modulated by the immune system. Submucosa and smooth muscle layers, located underneath the intestinal epithelium, are innervated by the enteric nervous system (ENS), a complex network of neurons capable of functioning independently from brain signaling. Recently, it was discovered in mammals that enteric neuronal populations can produce proinflammatory cytokines that stimulate intestinal immune cells to release antimicrobial peptides against Salmonella infection. Hence, neuroimmune interactions modulated by the ENS may strengthen the canonical epithelial barrier against pathogenic infections such as Salmonella. Enteric neuronal structures and their relationship with the immune system have been widely explored in mammals and humans, however limited information is available on ENS structure and function in the poultry intestinal tract. Therefore, in our study we characterized for the first time the different neuronal populations and structures within the 3D environment of the chicken ENS by using tissue clearing and 3D imaging without tissue sectioning. Intestinal whole mount preparations of ileum, cecum and colon from 4-weeks old chickens were fixed in 4% paraformaldehyde and stained for HuC/D, the cell body marker of all enteric neurons and nNOS, the marker for inhibitory neurotransmission. Tissues were cleared to optimally visualize enteric neuronal cells and fibers in both the myenteric and submucosal plexuses of different intestinal regions with confocal microscopy. Our findings demonstrate a novel methodology of staining that preserves the structural integrity of all the neuronal units across the chicken intestinal wall and can be leveraged by poultry researchers to study the role of the ENS in protecting the integrity of the inner intestinal barriers of defense against infection and foodborne pathogen colonization during the pre-harvest phases of poultry production. Key words: enteric nervous system, tissue clearing, confocal imaging, broiler chickens.