The Immunomodulatory Function of Assembled Composite Nanopolypeptide Containing Bursal-Derived BP7 (CNPB7) in Promoting the Mucosal Immune Response within Poultry Immunization

Abstract

Mucosal immunity is the main defense line against respiratory disease pathogens. Newcastle disease and avian infectious bronchitis are common respiratory diseases in poultry. However, the mucosal immune response is not sufficiently activated and thus fails to achieve the ideal immune protection. Therefore, it is important to develop a suitable mucosal immune adjuvant to enhance the immune response of live vaccines. Here, the bursal-derived peptide BP7, β-glucan, and hyaluronic acid were selected as the adjuvant to be assembled into the composite nanopolypeptide adjuvant (CNPB7) with ultrasonic dispersion technology. The results showed that after optimizing assembly conditions, the optimal average particle size of nanoparticle CNPB7 was 514.9 nm and PDI was 0.298. To evaluate the non-specific immune responses of nanoparticle CNPB7, the chickens were immunized only with nanoparticle CNPB7. It was confirmed that nanoparticle CNPB7 enhanced the expression of CD3, CD4, CD80, and CD86 factors in the spleen lymphocyte from the chicken immunized with nanoparticle CNPB7. To investigate the mucosal immune response of nanoparticle CNPB7, the chickens were orally immunized with Newcastle disease virus (NDV)–infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) dual vaccines and CNPB7. The results proved that the levels of immunoglobulin SIgA, IL-4, IFN-γ, and IL-13 in the mucus samples from the respiratory and digestive tract in chicken immunized with nanoparticle CNPB7 and vaccines were significantly increased, compared to that of vaccine control. Finally, it was observed that nanoparticle CNPB7 promoted specific increased antibody productions against NDV and IBV in the immunized chicken. These results proved that the assembled nanoparticle CNPB7 could enhance the vaccination efficacy in chicken, which provided the experimental basis for the development of new adjuvants, and offered technical support for preventing virus transmission of avian diseases.