Project description:Subgroup J avian leukemia is a type of oncology infectious disease caused by Subtype J of avian leukosis virus (ALV-J). It mainly encroaches on bone marrow cells, and metastasizes to liver, kidney, splenic ellipsoids and other organs, leading to myeloid leukosis (ML) and other malignancies, resulting in significant economic losses. microRNA play important roles in oncology infectious diseases. We used miRNA microarray analysis to detail the relationship of aberrant microRNAs and chicken ALV-J leukemia, and to try to find the potential diagnostic and therapeutic target for infections of subtype J of leukemia.
Project description:Toxoplasma gondii is a ubiquitous protozoan pathogen able to infect both mammalian and avian hosts. Surprisingly, just three strains appear to account for the majority of isolates from Europe and N. America. To test the hypothesis that strain divergence might be driven by differences between mammalian and avian response to infection, we examine in vitro strain-dependent host responses in a representative avian host, the chicken. To identify parasite drivers of strain-dependent host response, QTL mapping was used; analysis revealed a locus on Toxoplasma chromosome VIIb. To determine whether this was the parasite gene ROP16, array analysis was performed on chicken embryonic fibroblasts infected with Type I parasites and ROP16-KO parasites (of a Type I background).
Project description:Toxoplasma gondii is a ubiquitous protozoan pathogen able to infect both mammalian and avian hosts. Surprisingly, just three strains appear to account for the majority of isolates from Europe and N. America. To test the hypothesis that strain divergence might be driven by differences between mammalian and avian response to infection, we examine in vitro strain-dependent host responses in a representative avian host, the chicken. Chicken embryonic fibroblasts were cultivated in vitro and infected with different strains of Toxoplasma gondii (Type II = ME49, Type III = CEP); host transcriptional responses were then analyzed at 24 hours post-infection.
Project description:Reticuloendotheliosis virus (REV) is a type C avian retrovirus; which causes immunosuppression, dwarf syndrome, and lymphoma in infected hosts. In this study, we used tandem mass tag (TMT) labeling and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry/mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) to characterize protein alterations in chicken bursa of Fabricius, before and after REV infection at 7, 14, 21, and 28 days. Our data showed that 1127, 999, 910 and 1138 differentially expressed proteins were significantly altered at 7, 14, 21, 28 days after REV infection, respectively. Bioinformatics analysis indicated these proteins were mainly participate in are mainly involved with immune responses, energy metabolism, cellular processes, biological regulation, metabolic processes, response to stimuli, and multicellular organismal process. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway cluster analysis showed that post-infection, proteins were enriched in the cell cycle, Wnt signaling, antigen processing and presentation, cytokine receptor interaction, Adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate signaling pathway, and NF-κB signaling. In addition, heat shock protein (HSP) levels also changed significantly after REV infection. These findings help clarify interactions between REV and the host, and provides mechanistic insights on REV-induced host immunosuppression.
Project description:In the avian host, comprehensively cataloging immune cell types, their transcriptome profiles, and varying molecular responses to pathogen challenges are necessary steps toward a better understanding of the interplay between genetics and disease resilience. We present a first nuclei atlas of immune cell types derived from the three main immune organs of layer chickens, including spleen, bursa, and thymus. In bursa we also present, an accounting of cell type activation with the bacterial toxin lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Our analysis includes 36,370 total nuclei and 16, 12, and 12 transcriptionally distinct clusters for spleen, bursa, and thymus, respectively. We discover nuclei molecular profiles that uniquely distinguish states of the transcriptome within cell type that could serve as new means to characterize avian immune subtypes. We further subcluster refined immune cell type classifications, specifically highlighting the transcriptomic diversity of B and T cell subtypes. In the bursa, inferred intercellular communication and signaling pathway enrichment analyses across immune and non-immune cell types demonstrate the unappreciated complexity of the B cell repertoire in a model mimicking systemic bacterial infection. This census of all cell types in both primary and one major secondary avian immune organ system, although preliminary, provides a first review of how nuclei transcribe numerous genes, known and unknown, a critical prerequisite for the study avian immunogenetics by cell type.