Efficacy of a nanoparticle vaccine administered in-ovo against Salmonella in broilers

PLoS One. 2021 Apr 6;16(4):e0247938. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0247938. eCollection 2021.

Abstract

Salmonella is a zoonotic pathogen that persists in poultry. Salmonella vaccines that can be delivered in-ovo can be cost-effective and can decrease Salmonella load in poultry. This study evaluates the efficacy of a Salmonella chitosan-nanoparticle (CNP) vaccine, administered in-ovo, in broilers. CNP vaccine was synthesized with Salmonella Enteritidis (SE) outer-membrane-proteins (OMPs) and flagellin proteins. At embryonic-d18, one-hundred-thirty-six eggs were injected with 200μl PBS or 1000μg CNP into the amniotic cavity. At d1-of-age, 132 chicks were allocated in 6 pens/treatment with 11 chicks/pen. At d7, birds were orally challenged with 1×109 CFU/bird SE. At d1, 8h-post-challenge, d14, and d21, serum anti-SE-OMPs IgY were analyzed. At d14 and d21, cloacal swabs and bile anti-SE-OMPs IgA, CD4+/CD8+-T-cell ratios, and ceca SE loads were analyzed. At d21, cecal tonsil IL-1β, IL-10, and iNOS mRNA were analyzed. Body-weight-gain (BWG) and feed-conversion-ratio (FCR) were recorded weekly. Data were analyzed by Student's t-test at P<0.05. There were no significant differences in BWG or FCR between vaccinated birds compared to control. At d1, CNP-vaccinated birds had 5.62% greater levels (P<0.05) of anti-SE-OMPs IgY, compared to control. At 8h-post-challenge, CNP-vaccinated birds had 6.39% greater levels (P<0.05) of anti-SE-OMPs IgY, compared to control. At 2wk-post-challenge, CNP-vaccinated birds had 7.34% lower levels (P<0.05) of anti-SE-OMPs IgY, compared to control. At 1wk-post-challenge, CNP-vaccinated birds had 15.30% greater levels (P<0.05) of bile anti-SE-OMPs IgA, compared to control. At d14 and d21, CNP-vaccinated birds had 0.62 and 0.85 Log10 CFU/g, decreased SE ceca load (P<0.05), respectively, compared to control. There were no significant differences in CD4+/CD8+-T-cell ratios between vaccinated birds compared to control. There were no significant differences in IL-1β, IL-10, iNOS mRNA between vaccinated birds compared to control. Findings demonstrate that the in-ovo administration of CNP vaccine can induce an antigen-specific immune response against SE and can decrease SE cecal load in broilers.

Publication types

  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Chickens / immunology*
  • Chitosan / immunology
  • Chitosan / pharmacology
  • Flagellin / immunology
  • Nanoparticles / chemistry
  • Nanoparticles / therapeutic use*
  • Poultry Diseases / prevention & control
  • Salmonella / immunology
  • Salmonella / pathogenicity
  • Salmonella Infections, Animal / immunology
  • Salmonella Vaccines / immunology*
  • Salmonella enteritidis / immunology
  • Vaccines / administration & dosage

Substances

  • Salmonella Vaccines
  • Vaccines
  • Flagellin
  • Chitosan

Grants and funding

This research was partially supported by Hatch grant and USDA-NIFA grant 2017-05035 and 58-6040-8-034, awarded to RKS. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. The specific role of authors in this manuscript is mentioned in authors contribution section.