U.S. flagAn official website of the United States government
                    Here's how you know **Official websites use .gov**
                            
                            A **.gov** website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
 **Secure .gov websites use HTTPS**
                            
                            A **lock** (                            
                              A locked padlock                                                      
                            
                            ) or **https://** means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.


Menu Agricultural Research Service
						
                    U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
 close



Research
                Research Home
                            National Programs
                            Research Projects
                            Scientific Manuscripts
                            International Engagement
                            Scientific Software/Models
                            Databases and Datasets
                            Office of Scientific Quality Review
            Media
                News & Features
                            Multimedia
                            Briefing Room
                            Down on the Farm
                            Press Room
                            Science in Your Shopping Cart
                            Scientific Discoveries
                            Tellus
                            Under the Microscope
            About ARS
                About ARS Home
                            Staff Directory
                            Labs and Research Centers (Map)
                            Headquarter Offices
                            Organizational Chart
                            Employee Services (REE Employees Only)
                            Office of Outreach, Diversity, and Equal Opportunity
            Work With Us
                Work With Us Home
                            ARS Vacancies at USAJOBS
                            Careers at ARS Information
                            Scientific Collaborations
                            Extramural Agreements
                            1890 Faculty Research Sabbatical ProgramSearch small
                    Search
            
            ARS Home
                                About ARS
                                Contact Us




ARS Home Research Publications at this Location





- ARS National Programs
- Search for a scientific manuscript
- Search for a research project
- ARS Software
- Programs and Projects
- Collaborations
- Subjects of Investigation
- Publications

Title:   Author  item
                                            Lillehoj, Hyun
  Submitted to: Feed Information for News on the Web
                                    Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
                                    Publication Acceptance Date: 3/4/2004
                                    Publication  Date: N/A
                                    Citation: N/AInterpretive Summary: Avian coccidiosis is caused by at least 7 different Eimeria species and causes severe damage to the gut of chickens.  Ability to develop effective control methods against avian coccidiosis will reduce economic loss of >$700 million.  However, limited information concerning the nature of host immune mechanism in avian coccidiosis hinders rapid progress toward this goal.  In order to understand host immune response to coccidiosis, we need to develop immunological methods to assess host immunity to parasites.  In this article, ARS scientist describes new in vitro methods to measure host cell-mediated immunity.  Availability of these methods will enhance our ability to measure host immunity to pathogens in commercial scale and increase basic understanding of host cell-mediated immunity to parasites.
                                Technical Abstract: Apicompexan protozoa of the genus Eimeria are a common cause of coccidiosis.  Following ingestion of infective oocysts, coccidia parasites undergo a complex life cycle ultimately impairing the gastrointestinal tract and resulting in nutrient malabsorption, body weight loss and, in severe cases, death.  Host immune responses to Eimeria are extremely complex and involve many different effector mechanisms of intestinal immune system.  Because Eimeria undergo intracellular development inside host cells, antibodies do not play an important role in protection against coccidiosis.  Rather, effector mechanisms involving local lymphocytes and their secreted soluble factors, cytokines, play an important role in defense against coccidiosis.  Comprehensive understanding of local host-parasite interactions leading to protection is critical for the development of logical control strategy against coccidiosis.  However, progress in this area has been slow due to limited availability of immunological methods to assess local immunity in chickens.  To this end, new in vitro assays which enable the assessment of intestinal cell-mediated immunity to Eimeria have been developed. These assays are based on the measurement of soluble factors which are secreted by lymphocytes following activation by Eimeria.  Although molecular methods to measure the expression of cytokine gene transcripts became available recently, in vitro immunoassays based on the cytokine-specific monoclonal antibodies will allow the measurement of secreted proteins in biological samples in a large scale for commercial application.


Return to top


Connect with ARS Sign up


ARS Home
                            USDA.gov
                            Plain Writing
                            Policies & Links
                            Civil Rights Statements
                            FOIA
                            Accessibility Statement
                            Privacy Policy
                            Non-Discrimination Statement
                            Quality of Information
                            USA.gov
                            WhiteHouse.gov