CD205-positive, Sepharose-induced peritoneal exudate cells: a new resource for DC research in the chicken.

Dendritic cells (DC) are important antigen-presenting cells and are among the least characterized immune cells in the chicken. In order to obtain chicken DC, current protocols require isolation of bone marrow myeloid progenitor cells and induction of DC differentiation with supplemental cytokines or negative selection of splenic cell preparations. Chicken peritoneal exudate cells (PEC) have traditionally been a source of various immune cells for ex vivo studies, primarily to investigate heterophils and macrophages.

Crude Inactivated Influenza A Virus Adjuvated with a Bispecific Antibody Complex Targeting Chicken CD40 and AIV M2e Confers Protection Against Lethal HPAI Challenge in Chickens.

In vivo targeting an immunogen to the CD40 receptor expressed on professional antigen-presenting cells (APCs) dramatically enhances speed, magnitude, and quality of the immune response. Our previous evaluation of this strategy in poultry was limited to immunogenicity studies using CD40-targeted synthetic peptides, which demonstrated significant antigen-specific serum IgG and tracheal IgA levels <1 week after primary administration. In this study, this antibody-guided immunization strategy was modified to permit incorporation of inactivated highly pathogenic avian influenza virions (in lieu of short synthetic peptides) as the immunogen by simply mixing a bispecific antibody complex (anti-CD40/M2e) with crude inactivated virus before injection.

A Fast and Inexpensive Protocol for Empirical Verification of Neutralizing Epitopes in Microbial Toxins and Enzymes.

targeting of peptides to antigen-presenting cells by use of agonistic anti-CD40 monoclonal antibodies has been used successfully as an immune response enhancing strategy. When tested in chickens, the antibody-guided platform was capable of inducing specific IgG production within 1 week postimmunization. However, use of this method beyond its initial conception as a vaccine delivery tool has not been fully exploited.

Significant mucosal sIgA production after a single oral or parenteral administration using in vivo CD40 targeting in the chicken.

Many pathogens enter the host through mucosal surfaces and spread rapidly via the circulation. The most effective way to prevent disease is to establish mucosal and systemic immunity against the pathogen. However, current vaccination programs in poultry industry require repeated administrations of live-attenuated virus or large amounts (10 to 100μg) of antigen together with adjuvant to induce specific secretory IgA immune responses at the mucosal effector sites.

Immunization of chickens with an agonistic monoclonal anti-chicken CD40 antibody-hapten complex: rapid and robust IgG response induced by a single subcutaneous injection.

Producing diagnostic antibodies in chicken egg yolk represents an alternate animal system that offers many advantages including high productivity at low cost. Despite being an excellent counterpart to mammalian antibodies, chicken IgG from yolk still represents an underused resource. The potential of agonistic monoclonal anti-CD40 antibodies (mAb) as a powerful immunological adjuvant has been demonstrated in mammals, but not in chickens.