A number of polysaccharides have been reported to show immunomodulatory and antiviral activities against various animal viruses. AEX is a polysaccharide extracted from the green algae, Coccomyxa gloeobotrydiformis. The aim of this study was to examine the function of AEX in regulating the immune response in chickens and its capacity to inhibit the infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV), to gain an understanding of its immunomodulatory and antiviral ability. Here, preliminary immunological tests in vitro showed that the polysaccharide AEX can activate the chicken peripheral blood molecular cells' (PBMCs) response by inducing the production of cytokines and NO, promote extracellular antigen presentation but negatively regulate intracellular antigen presentation in chicken splenic lymphocytes, and promote the proliferation of splenic lymphocytes and DT40 cells. An antiviral analysis showed that AEX repressed IBDV replication by the deactivation of viral particles or by interfering with adsorption in vitro and reduced the IBDV viral titer in the chicken bursa of Fabricius. Finally, in this study, when AEX was used as an adjuvant for the IBDV vaccine, specific anti-IBDV antibody (IgY, IgM, and IgA) titers were significantly decreased. These results indicate that the polysaccharide AEX may be a potential alternative approach for anti-IBDV therapy and an immunomodulator for the poultry industry. However, more experimentation is needed to find suitable conditions for it to be used as an adjuvant for the IBDV vaccine.
Keywords: AEX; Coccomyxa; IBDV; cytokine; polysaccharide.