Salmonella is a major foodborne pathogen that causes approximately 1.35 million infections annually in the US and remains a leading cause of poultry-associated foodborne illness. To improve chickens’ resistance to this pathogen, it is important to understand the mucosal immune mechanisms that govern intestinal defense.
Intraepithelial lymphocytes (IELs) positioned between intestinal epithelial cells provide frontline immune surveillance against enteric pathogens. However, a comprehensive characterization of IEL subtype responses to Salmonella infection remains incomplete.
Therefore, we conducted this study to examine IEL subtypes and their mechanisms in response to a Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis (S. Enteritidis) challenge using a combination of spectral flow cytometry and single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq).
Fifty specific-pathogen free (SPF) chicks were reared to 21 days of age and then assigned to S. Enteritidis-challenged (SE; 1.62 × 108 CFU/bird, oral gavage) or control (CN; PBS) groups (n = 25/group).
On day 2 post infection (2 dpi) and 6 dpi, eight birds per group were sampled to collect liver and ceca for bacteriology and ileum for IEL acquisition. Bacteriological findings confirmed the challenge: the SE group harbored S.
Frontiers in Immunology published a clinical update in Infectious Disease on 03 Jun 2026.
The item focuses on Single-cell transcriptomic profiling reveals innate-like cytotoxic intraepithelial lymphocyte expansion during Salmonella Enteritidis infection in chickens.
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