2022 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

Creation of avian mucosal immunology for healthy growth of young chicks based on the intestinal immune development

Research Project

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Project/Area Number	21K19176
Research Category	Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Research (Exploratory)
Allocation Type	Multi-year Fund
Review Section	Medium-sized Section 42:Veterinary medical science, animal science, and related fields
Research Institution	Tohoku University
Principal Investigator	NOCHI TOMONORI 東北大学, 農学研究科, 教授 (10708001)
Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha)	イスラムジャヒドゥル東北大学, 農学研究科, 特任助教 (20805569) 佐藤幹東北大学, 農学研究科, 教授 (20250730) 喜久里基東北大学, 農学研究科, 准教授 (90613042) 陶山佳久東北大学, 農学研究科, 教授 (60282315) 松尾歩東北大学, 農学研究科, 助教 (90868754)
Project Period (FY)	2021-07-09 – 2023-03-31
Keywords	ニワトリ / 粘膜免疫 / 腸管 / 盲腸 / Cecal Patches
Outline of Final Research Achievements	To elucidate the mechanism by which numerous lymphoid follicles, called cecal patches (CP) develop in the cecum of chicks, immunological and morphological studies were conducted. No CP formation was observed in the cecum before and immediately after hatching; however, the development of CP containing B and T cells was sufficiently observed 2 weeks after hatching. The development of CP was dependent on the bursa of Fabricius since no B cells were accumulated in the CP when the bursa of Fabricius was surgically removed just after hatching. The number of B and T cells present in the CP was also shown to be significantly reduced by antibiotics treatment, indicating that CP morphogenesis is promoted in an intestinal microbiota-dependent manner.
Free Research Field	動物粘膜免疫学
Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements	ニワトリの健全育成を可能にすべく、雛の腸管に発達する免疫システムの形態形成機序を明らかにすることで、腸管の免疫機能強化を可能にするための分子・細胞標的の特定に迫ることができた。孵化直後の雛を感染症から予防するためにも、特に、幼若期の免疫機能形成に関するメカニズムの正しい理解は非常に重要であり、雛の発育に合わせ経時的に解析することを目的とした本研究の学術的意義は非常に高い。また、雛の腸管の免疫機能形成に関わる微生物の存在を特定できたことは、有用微生物を用いた免疫機能強化を可能にする戦略を見出す上でも非常に価値ある成果であり、家禽産業における社会的意義も非常に高い。