The Bursa of Fabricius, an avian unique humoral immune organ, is instrumental to B cell development. Bursal-derived peptide BP9 fosters B-cell development and formation. Yet, the exact mechanism wherein BP9 impacts B cell differentiation and antigenic presentation remains undefined. In this paper, B cell activation and differentiation in the spleen cells from mice immunized with the AIV vaccine and BP9 were detected following flow cytometry (FCM) analysis. Furthermore, the molecular mechanism of BP9 in B cell differentiation in vivo was investigated with RNA sequencing technology. To verify the potential functional mechanism of BP9 in the antigenic presentation process, the transcriptome molecular basis of chicken macrophages stimulated by BP9 was measured via high-throughput sequencing technology. The results proved that when given in experimental dosages, BP9 notably accelerated total B cells, and enhanced B-cell differentiation and plasma cell production. The gene expression profiles of B cells from mice immunized with 0.01 mg/mL BP9 and AIV vaccine disclosed that 0.01 mg/mL BP9 initiated the enrichment of several biological functions and significantly stimulated key B-cell pathways in immunized mice. Crucially, a total of 4093 differentially expressed genes were identified in B cells with BP9 stimulation, including 943 upregulated genes and 3150 downregulated genes. Additionally, BP9 induced various cytokine productions in the chicken macrophage HD11 cells and activated 9 upregulated and 20 downregulated differential miRNAs, which were involved in various signal and biological processes. Furthermore, BP9 stimulated the activation of multiple transcription factors in HD11 cells, which was related to antigen presentation processes. In summary, these results suggested that BP9 might promote B cell differentiation and induce antigen presentation, which might provide the valuable insights into the mechanism of B cell differentiation upon bursal-derived immunomodulating peptide stimulation and provide a solid experimental groundwork for enhancing vaccine-induced immunity.

Chicken melanoma differentiation-associated gene 5 (MDA5) is a member of the RLRs family that recognizes the viral RNAs invading cells and activates downstream interferon regulatory pathways, thereby inhibiting viral replication. The caspase activation and recruitment domain (CARD) is the most important region in MDA5 protein. However, the antiviral and immune enhancement of MDA5 with the CARD region remains unclear. In this study, two truncated MDA5 genes with different CARD regions, namely MDA5-1 with CARD1 plus partial CARD2 domain and MDA5-2 with CARD1 plus complete CARD2 domain, were cloned via reverse transcription PCR and ligated into plasmid Flag-N vector to be Flag-MDA5-1 and Flag-MDA5-2 plasmids. DF-1 cells were transfected with two plasmids for 24 h and then inoculated with H9N2 virus (0.1 MOI) for 6 h to detect the levels of IFN-β, PKR, MAVS, and viral HA, NA, and NS proteins expression. The results showed that MDA5-1 and MDA5-2 increased the expression of IFN-β and PKR, activated the downstream molecule MAVS production, and inhibited the expression of HA, NA, and NS proteins. The knockdown of MDA5 genes confirmed that MDA5-2 had a stronger antiviral effect than that of MDA5-1. Furthermore, the recombinant proteins MDA5-1 and MDA5-2 were combined with H9N2 inactivated vaccine to immunize SPF chickens subcutaneously injected in the neck three times. The immune response of the immunized chicken was investigated. It was observed that the antibody titers and expressions of immune-related molecules from the chicken immunized with MDA5-1 and MDA5-2 group were increased, in which the inducing function of MDA5-2 groups was the highest among all immunization groups. These results suggested that the truncated MDA5 recombinant proteins with complete CARD2 region could play vital roles in antiviral and immune enhancement. This study provides important material for the further study of the immunoregulatory function and clinical applications of MDA5 protein.

The bursa of Fabricius (BF) is a vital central humoral immune organ unique to birds. The bioactive peptide BP7 derived from bursa is reported to promote the vaccine immune response and antibody production. However, the regulatory effect on antigen presentation and B cell differentiation has been infrequently reported. In this paper, chicken macrophage HD11 cells were used for the cell model, and the cellular molecular expressions were determined by the fluorescent quantitative PCR (qPCR) after BP7 treatment. Then, the miRNA expression profile was analyzed by high-throughput sequencing. In addition, BALB/C mice were used as the animal model to detect B cell subtype with flow cytometry (FCM). The results showed that the expressions of four immune active molecules, IL-1β, IL-6, iNOS, and IFN-α, in HD11 cells were significantly increased with 100 ng/mL BP7 treatment. Compared with the control group, there were 58 up-regulated and 61 down-regulated miRNAs in HD11 cells with BP7 treatment. The gene ontology (GO) function analysis found that BP7 mainly affected the various biological processes, molecular function, and MHC protein complex. Pathway analysis showed that 100 ng/mL BP7 stimulated various physiological metabolic pathways and signal transduction pathways, including the intestinal immune network producing IgA in HD11 cells. Furthermore, it was found that BP7 in vitro stimulated B cell populations, as well as plasma cells in spleen cells from the immunized mice. Additionally, B cell activation subpopulations were increased in mice immunized with the AIV vaccine and BP7. These results proved that BP7 stimulated various differentially expressed genes in chicken macrophage HD11 cells, and induced B cell differentiation in the immunized mice, which suggested that BP7 might participate in the antigen presentation process, thereby promoting the differentiation of B cells. These results provide an important basis for the mechanism of bursal-derived peptide on B cell development, and offer the experimental basis for the development of adjuvants.

The bursa of Fabricius, the acknowledged humoral immune organ unique to birds, plays a vital role in B cell development. Bursopentin (BP5) derived from the bursa is reported to induce the development and formation of B cells. However, the mechanism of BP5 on B cell differentiation is still unclear. In this paper, total B lymphocytes from mice immunized with H9N2 subtype AIV vaccine were stimulated with BP5. The results show that BP5 at the experimental dosages promoted B cell differentiation, including the total B cells, activated B cells, differentiated B cells, mature B cells and plasma cells. Then, the in vivo immune experiment proved that the percentages of activated and differentiated B cells from mice immunized with AIV vaccine and 0.25 mg/mL BP5 were increased. To investigate the molecular mechanism of BP5 on B cell differentiation, the gene expression profiles of B cells purified from the spleen cells of mice immunized with AIV vaccine and BP5 were detected following RNA sequencing technology. The results show that BP5 at 0.05 and 0.25 mg/mL induced the enrichment of various biological functions, and stimulated five common significant enrichment pathways in B cells from the immunized mice. Additionally, 120 and 59 differentially expressed genes (DEG) represented transcriptional factors in B cells following 0.05 and 0.25 mg/mL BP5 immunization, respectively. In summary, these results suggest that BP5 regulates various gene expression involved in regulation of B cell development, which provides the knowledge required for additional studies on B cell differentiation in response to bursal-derived peptides and also provides an important experimental basis for improving vaccine immunity.

CpG oligodeoxynucleotides (CpG ODN) present adjuvant activities for antigen proteins, which can induce humoral and cellular immune responses to antigens. However, the immunomodulatory functions of CpG ODNs with different sequences are very different. In this paper, six CpG ODNs with different sequences were designed based on CpG2007 as a template. Through the screening of CEF cells in vitro, the stimulating activity of CpG ODNs was determined. Then, two selected CpG ODN sequence backbones were modified by substituting the oxygen with sulfur (S-CpG) and verifying the immune activity. Next, to prove the feasibility of S-CpG as an immune potentiator, two immune models with or without white oil adjuvant were prepared in 20-day-old chicken vaccinations. The screening experiment in vitro showed that the inducing roles of CpG ODN 4 and 5 could strongly stimulate various immune-related molecular expressions. Additionally, CpG ODN 4 and 5 with sulfation modification significantly induced various cytokines' expressions. Furthermore, CpG ODN 4 and 5 induced the strongly humoral and cellular immune responses during vaccination, in which white oil, as an adjuvant, could significantly improve the immune effect of CpG ODN. These results provide an important experimental basis for exploring the structural characteristics and vaccine immunity of CpG ODN.

为研究Cbl蛋白(Casitas b-lineage lymphoma)对H9N2亚型禽流感病毒(AIV)复制的影响,采用PCR技术扩增Cbl基因片段并连接到FLAG-N载体中,Western blot技术验证FLAG-Cbl重组载体表达及病毒NP蛋白的表达情况,并采用荧光定量PCR技术检测病毒的血凝素(HA)、核蛋白(NP)和非结构蛋白(NS)基因水平;采用RNAi技术检测Cbl对病毒HA基因表达水平的影响.结果 显示:EcoR Ⅰ、HindⅢ双酶切鉴定及测序分析发现,成功构建真核表达重组载体FLAG-Cbl;Western blot结果证实H9N2亚型AIV感染FLAG-Cbl重组载体转染的A549细胞6h时,病毒NP蛋白表达降低;荧光定量PCR结果证实病毒NP、NS及HA基因在AIV感染FLAG-cbl重组载体转染的A549细胞的6和12 h时表达水平均明显降低;RNAi敲低A549细胞内源性Cbl蛋白后,H9N2亚型AIV的HA基因表达水平在病毒感染12、24和36 h明显升高.结果 表明:Cbl蛋白能在早期抑制H9N2亚型AIV在A549细胞上的复制,为深入研究Cbl蛋白抗病毒复制的机制提供了重要的试验依据,同时为开展抗AIV的药物研发提供了参考.

试验旨在探索法氏囊活性肽BP7调节鸡未成熟B细胞的分子基础.利用BP7刺激禽前B淋巴细胞DT40细胞,采用荧光定量PCR(qPCR)检测IgM的mRNA水平,并采用基因芯片分析基因表达谱及其生物学功能.结果 显示,BP7刺激的DT40细胞产生IgM的mRNA水平明显升高.基因芯片分析发现,BP7处理的DT40细胞中共有1345个差异表达基因.通路分析发现,BP7诱导DT40细胞的差异表达基因涉及17条通路,包括受体互作、信号通路、代谢和蛋白质分解相关通路等.通路网络分析发现,细胞因子-细胞因子受体互作是BP7刺激后DT40细胞相关途径中的关键通路.基因本体论(Go)功能分析发现,BP7刺激DT40细胞中涉及的免疫相关功能主要包括免疫应答、免疫应答信号、Th1型免疫应答、细胞因子的产生和调节及其受体活性等方面.该研究阐述了法氏囊活性肽BP7调节禽未成熟B细胞的分子基础,为进一步研究法氏囊活性肽调控B细胞分化的分子机制提供了新的数据.