• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.42 no.2
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• pp.209-217
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• 2002

This study was performed to produce monoclonal antibodies (mAb) specifically reacting with chicken leukocyte surface antigens. Popliteal lymph node cells of BALB/c mice previously immunized through foot-pad with peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) of chickens separated by Ficoll-Histopaque method. They were fused with P3X63Ag14 mouse myeloma cells. A total of 34 hybridomas secreted antibodies specifically binding to the PBMC. According to the reactivity patterns with PBMC, the mAbs were divided into 4 groups. Group 1 mAbs (IIB3, IIB10, IIE10) specifically reacted with non-adherent lymphocytes but not with adherent cells which were mainly composed of thrombocytes and monocytes in PBMC culture. These mAbs were reactive with 25-59% of thymus cells and 42-64% of spleen cells of chickens. They did not show any significant reactivity with cells in the bursa of Fabricius, T-cell (MDCC-MSB1) and B-cell (LSCC-1104B1) lines. These results indicate that Group I mAbs specifically reacted with T-lymphocyte subpopulation. Monoclonal antibodies in Group II (IC6, IG2-2 and IID9) showed specific reactivity with monocytes but not with thrombocytes or non-adherent cells in PBMC culture. These mAbs, though not reacted with the chicken macrophage cell line, HD11, also bound to macrophages of the spleen and lung in immunohistochemical staining. Five mAbs in Group III showed characteristics of binding to lymphocytes and monocytes, but not to thrombocytes. Twenty-three mAbs in Group IV showed specific reactivity to lymphocytes, monocytes, and thrombocytes. Two mAbs (IC3 and IE9) in Group IV reacted with most of PBMC.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.258-263
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• 2011

This experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of dietary wild-ginseng adventitious root meal (WGM) on growth performance, blood profiles, relative organ weight and meat quality of broiler chickens. A total of 480, 2-day-old male broiler chicks (BW = $42.8{\pm}1.38\;g$) were randomly allocated to 1 of 4 dietary treatments (6 cages with 20 broilers per cage). Dietary treatments were: i) CON (basal diet), ii) WGM0.1 (basal diet+0.1% WGM), iii) WGM0.2 (basal diet+0.2% WGM) and iv) WGM0.3 (basal diet+ 0.3% WGM). Birds fed WGM0.3 diet (p<0.05) had a higher feed intake (FI) than those fed the CON diet during weeks 1 to 3. During weeks 3 to 5, dietary WGM0.1 treatment led to a higher (p<0.05) BW gain (BWG) and feed intake (FI) compared with the CON and WGM0.3 treatments. Overall, birds fed WGM0.1 improved BWG and FI compared with those fed the CON treatment. A greater lymphocyte count was observed (p<0.05) in WGM0.2 and WGM0.3 treatments compared with the CON treatment; dietary WGM decreased (p<0.05) the total cholesterol concentration compared with the CON group. The inclusion of WGM increased the relative weight of spleen and bursa of fabricius (p<0.05) compared with CON, while less abdominal fat was observed in the WGM0.3 treatment (p<0.05) compared with CON. The 2-thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) of breast muscle were decreased (p<0.05) by WGM supplementation. Overall, our results indicated that the use of WGM at the 0.1% level could enhance growth performance in broilers. The supplementation of WGM could induce a decreased TBARS, abdominal fat and serum cholesterol in broiler chickens.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.549-554
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• 2016

The present study was conducted to investigate whether dietary essential oils could affect growth performance, relative organ weights, cecal microflora, immune responses and blood profiles of broiler chickens fed on diets containing different nutrient densities. A total of eight hundred-forty 1-d-old male broiler chicks were randomly allotted into twenty-eight pens (7 pens per treatment, 30 chicks per pen). There were four experimental diets containing two different nutrient densities and supplemented with or without essential oils. Experimental period lasted for 35 days. No clear interaction between nutrient density and essential oils on any of growth performance-related parameters was observed. Live body weights were affected (p<0.05) by nutrient density at 21 days and by dietary essential oils at 35 days. Essential oils significantly (p<0.05) increased daily body weight gain and feed conversion ratio during the periods of 22 to 35 and 1 to 35 days, but failed to affect feed intake during the entire experimental period. Daily weight gain at 1 to 21 days and feed intake at 1 to 21 and 1 to 35 days were significantly impaired (p<0.05) by nutrient density. There were significant treatment interactions (p<0.05) on relative weights of bursa of Fabricius and abdominal fat contents. Finally, either essential oil or nutrient density did not influence the relative percentages of breast and leg meats, the population of cecal microflora, blood parameters and antibody titers against Newcastle disease and infectious bronchitis in broiler chickens. It was concluded that dietary essential oils, independent to nutrient density, failed to stimulate feed intake, but increased growth performance in broiler chickens.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.63-67
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• 1992

This paper reports the effects of rare earth nitrate (REN) on the growth of internal organs and mineral elements in serums of broiler chickens. The REN used is mixture of light RE containing mainly La, Ce, Pr and Nd 4 elements. 40 eight-week old AA broiler chickens were divided randomly into four groups that their treatments were respectively 0, 20, 200 and 2000 mg REN/kg feed and the duration of the experiment was 60 days. Responses were measured in terms of internal organic weight and tissue, contents of mineral elements in serums. There were no significant differences between the organ ratios and tissue changes of the 20, 200 mg REN/kg groups and the control group. The organs included the heart, liver, kidneys, lungs, testicles, thyroids, adrenal glands, pancreas, tonsies of caecum, stomachus glandularis, duodenum, ileum and bursa of Fabricius. The liver and thyroid indices of 2000 mg REN/kg group were significantly higher than those of the control group (p < 0.01, p < 0.05) and the adrenal gland index lower (p < 0.05). The pathlolgic changes in the heart, kidney and thyroid were more serious than that of the control group. No significant differences occurred between the contents of K, Na, Mg elements in the serum of all groups, with the exception of the content of Ca, which was higher in the 2000 mg/kg group (p < 0.05). The contents of all trace elements including Mn, Zn and Cu, but except Fe, in the serums of all the treated groups were significantly higher than those of the control group (p < 0.01).

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.55 no.2
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• pp.131-139
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• 2013

The aim of this study was to assess the effects of housing systems on physiological and immunological responses as stress indicators in laying hens. A total of 500 White Leghorn aged 16 weeks were allotted into ten conventional cages (10 birds/cage and 810 $cm^2$/bird) and four floor pens (100 birds/pen and 2,800 $cm^2$/bird) for 24 weeks. The hens housed in conventional cages with higher stocking density resulted in a significantly (P<0.05) lower BW compared with those housed in floor pens with lower stocking density without affecting the relative weights of immune organs between housing conditions. In plasma biochemical values, cholesterol and corticosterone were significantly (P<0.05) lower in the hens housed in floor pens compared with those housed in conventional cages. In pro-inflammatory cytokines, hepatic interleukin (IL)-10 and interferon-gamma (IFN-${\gamma}$) levels were significantly (P<0.05) higher in the hens housed in conventional cages compared with those kept in floor pens. Splenic and thymic IFN-${\gamma}$ expression was significantly (P<0.05) up-regulated in the hens kept in conventional cages compared with those kept in floor pens without affecting IL-1, IL-10, lipopolysaccharide- induced tumor necrosis factor-${\alpha}$ factor (LITAF) and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS). In the bursa of Fabricius, IL-10 and iNOS expression of the hens housed in conventional cages were significantly (P<0.05) higher compared with those of the hens housed in floor pens. In conclusion, layers housed in conventional cages enhanced plasma cholesterol, corticosterone and some pro-inflammatory cytokines in the immune organs compared with those in floor pens.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.5-12
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• 2011

Infectious bursal disease (IBD) caused by infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV) is a highly contagious viral disease in chicken. It causes heavy economic loss by immune suppression and high mortality. The IBDV, designated Avibirnavirus in the Family Birnaviridae, has a double-stranded RNA genome formed by two segments, segment A and segment B. Segment A encodes a 108 KDa polypeptide that is self-cleaved to produce pVP2, VP3 and VP4, and later pVP2 is cleaved to VP2. The VP2 contains the antigenic regions responsible for elicitation of neutralizing antibodies and VP3 is a major immunogenic protein of IBDV. In this study, monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) specific for IBDV were produced and characterized. All 15 MAbs were specific for IBDV and did not react with other viruses used in this study. The protein specificity of MAbs was determined by comparing the reactivity patterns of each MAb with IBDV VP2 and VP234 recombinant baculoviruses and Western blot analysis. As a result, 7 MAbs (1F5, 2C8, 2F4, 3C7, 4C3, 6F11, 6G5) and 5 MAbs (2A4, 2G2, 3F5, 3G2, 4F10) were specific for VP2 and VP3, respectively. The protein specificity of 3 MAbs (2B8, 3F7, 3F8) were not determined. Five (2C8, 2F4, 4C3, 6F11, 6G5) of the VP2-specific MAbs had a neutralizing activity against IBDV. Some MAbs reacted with IBDV-infected bursa of Fabricius by indirect fluorescence antibody (IFA) and immunohistochemistry (IHC) assay. The MAbs produced in this study would be used for diagnostic reagents for the detection of IBDV infection.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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• v.42 no.3
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• pp.135-144
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• 2019

Low pathogenic avian influenza (LPAI; H9N2) and Newcastle disease (ND) are economically important poultry diseases in Korea. In this study, we investigated pathological features and virus distribution in the lymphoid tissues of chicks experimentally infected with H9N2 and/or ND virus. Six-weeks-old SPF chickens were divided into 4 groups, Control (C), H9N2 (E1), NDV (E2), and H9N2+NDV (E3). E1 group was challenged with 0.1 ml A/Kr/Ck/01310/01 (H9N2) $10^{5.6}$ $EID_{50}$ intranasally, E2 group was challenged with 0.5 ml KJW (NDV) $10^{5.0}{\sim}10^{6.0}$ $ELD_{50}$ intramuscularly, and E3 group was challenged with H9N2, followed 7 days later by NDV. In histopathological examination, E1 group showed depletion and necrosis in bursa of Fabricius, thymus, cecal tonsil, and spleen, whereas E2 and E3 groups were noted severe lymphocyte depletion and necrosis with destruction of lymphoid organs structures. In TUNEL assay, apoptotic bodies were detected in lymphoid organs of all experimental groups, which was most severe in E3 group. H9N2 and ND viruses were predominantly detected in cecal tonsil of E1, E2, and E3 groups by PCR and immunohistochemistry (ICH). In conclusion, co-infection of H9N2 with NDV caused severe pathologic lesions and apoptosis in lymphoid tissues compared to single infections.

• Journal of Veterinary Science
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• v.19 no.6
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• pp.817-826
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• 2018

The bursa of Fabricius (BF) is a central humoral immune organ unique to birds. Four bursal peptides (BP-I, BP-II, BP-III, and BP-IV) have been isolated and identified from the BF. In this study, the immunoadjuvant activities of BPs I to IV were examined in mice immunized with H9N2 avian influenza virus (AIV) vaccine. The results suggested that BP-I effectively enhanced cell-mediated immune responses, increased the secretion of Th1 (interferon gamma)- and Th2 (interleukin-4)-type cytokines, and induced an improved cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) response to the H9N2 virus. BP-II mainly elevated specific antibody production, especially neutralizing antibodies, and increased Th1- and Th2-type cytokine secretion. BP-III had no significant effect on antibody production or cell-mediated immune responses compared to those in the control group. A strong immune response at both the humoral and cellular levels was induced by BP-IV. Furthermore, a virus challenge experiment followed by H&E staining revealed that BP-I and BP-II promoted removal of the virus and conferred protection in mouse lungs. BP-IV significantly reduced viral titers and histopathological changes and contributed to protection against H9N2 AIV challenge in mouse lungs. This study further elucidated the immunoadjuvant activities of BPs I to IV, providing a novel insight into immunoadjuvants for use in vaccine design.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.35 no.8
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• pp.1215-1222
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• 2022

Objective: A feeding trial was carried out to determine the effect of dietary inclusion of silymarin seed extract on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, excreta microbiota, excreta gas emission, blood profiles, and meat quality in broilers. Methods: A total of 1,088 one-day-old Ross 308 broiler chicks (mixed-sex) with an initial body weight of 42.34±0.82 g, were randomly allocated into 1 of 4 dietary treatments with 17 replicates of 16 chicks per cage and fed a basal diet supplemented with 0%, 0.02%, 0.04%, and 0.06% of silymarin. Results: The inclusion of silymarin supplementation linearly increased the body weight of broilers during days 7 to 21 and 1 to 35 days. On day 35, broilers fed a diet containing graded levels of silymarin supplementation linearly increased the nutrient digestibility of dry matter, gross energy, and nitrogen and cecal Lactobacillus counts (p = 0.038). While silymarin supplement linearly reduced the methyl mercaptans (p = 0.039) and acetic acid (p = 0.007) emission in broilers. No significant effects were observed on the blood profile. Relative weights of organs such as breast muscle, bursa of fabricius were increased (linear effect, p<0.05), water holding capacity was enhanced by increasing the silymarin level from 0% to 0.06%. A linear reduction (p>0.05) in drip loss from meat samples during days 1, 3, 5, and 7 by the addition of graded level of silymarin to the diet. Conclusion: An increasing level of silymarin supplementation to the diet of broiler would be beneficial to enhance growth performance, nutrient digestibility, excreta microflora, blood profile, and meat quality traits.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.75-81
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• 2013

This experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of bacteriophage SE supplementation on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, blood profiles, visceral organ weight, meat quality and excreta microflora in broilers. A total of 340 1-d-old ROSS 308 broilers (mixed gender) with an initial average body weight (BW) of $41.71{\pm}0.16$ g were randomly allotted to 4 treatments with 5 replicate pens per treatment and 17 broilers per pen for 31 days. Dietary treatments were: 1) CON, control diet, 2) SE05, CON+0.05% bacteriophage, SE 3) SE10, CON+0.10% bacteriophage SE, and 4) SE15, CON+0.15% bacteriophage SE. During d 15 to 31, broilers fed SE15 diet had a higher (P<0.05) body weight gain than broilers fed CON diet. Overall, body weight gain in SE10 and SE15 was greater (P<0.05) than that in CON. Apparent total tract nutrient digestibility and blood characteristics did not differ (P>0.05) among treatments. The water holding capacity was increased (P<0.05) in SE15 compared with CON. Other meat quality in terms of pH value, breast muscle color ($L^*$, $a^*$, $b^*$) and drip loss were unaffected by dietary supplementation with bacteriophage SE. The visceral weight of bursa of Fabricius was increased (P<0.05) in broilers fed the bacteriophage SE incorporated diets compared with those fed the CON diet. No difference (P>0.05) was observed in visceral weight of liver, spleen, breast muscle, abdominal fat, gizzard and excreta concentrations of Lactobacillus, Clostridium perfringens, Escherichia coli, and Salmonella. In conclusion, dietary supplementation with 0.10 and 0.15% bacteriophage SE could improve the growth performance, breast muscle water holding capacity and bursa of Fabricius visceral weight in broilers.