Campylobacter infection in chickens modulates the intestinal epithelial barrier function

Asymptomatic carriage of Campylobacter jejuni is highly prevalent in chicken flocks. Thus, we investigated whether chronic Campylobacter carriage affects chicken intestinal functions despite the absence of clinical symptoms. An experiment was carried out in which commercial chickens were orally infe...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Innate immunity (London, England) England), 2015-02, Vol.21 (2), p.151-160
Main Authors: Awad, Wageha A, Molnár, Andor, Aschenbach, Jörg R, Ghareeb, Khaled, Khayal, Basel, Hess, Claudia, Liebhart, Dieter, Dublecz, Károly, Hess, Michael
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Asymptomatic Diseases
Body Weight
Campylobacter Infections - physiopathology
Campylobacter jejuni
Campylobacter jejuni - physiology
Carrier State
Cecum - microbiology
Cecum - physiology
Chickens
Colon - microbiology
Colon - physiology
Intestinal Mucosa - microbiology
Intestinal Mucosa - pathology
Intestinal Mucosa - physiology
Ion Transport - physiology
Jejunum - microbiology
Jejunum - physiology
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Request full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Asymptomatic carriage of Campylobacter jejuni is highly prevalent in chicken flocks. Thus, we investigated whether chronic Campylobacter carriage affects chicken intestinal functions despite the absence of clinical symptoms. An experiment was carried out in which commercial chickens were orally infected with C. jejuni (1 × 108 CFU/bird) at 14 days of life. Changes in ion transport and barrier function were assessed by short-circuit current (Isc) and transepithelial ion conductance (Gt) in Ussing chambers. Gt increased in cecum and colon of Campylobacter-infected chicken 7 d post-infection (DPI), whereas Gt initially decreased in the jejunum at 7 DPI and increased thereafter at 14 DPI. The net charge transfer across the epithelium was reduced or tended to be reduced in all segments, as evidenced by a decreased Isc. Furthermore, the infection induced intestinal histomorphological changes, most prominently including a decrease in villus height, crypt depth and villus surface area in the jejunum at 7 DPI. Furthermore, body mass gain was decreased by Campylobacter carriage. This study demonstrates, for the first time, changes in the intestinal barrier function in Campylobacter-infected chickens and these changes were associated with a decrease in growth performance in otherwise healthy-appearing birds.
ISSN:1753-4259
1753-4267
DOI:10.1177/1753425914521648