Salmonella infection may alter the expression of toll like receptor 4 and immune related cells in chicken bursa of Fabricius

Abstract Toll like receptor 4 (TLR4), eosinophils and mast cells play significant role in host immunity during several pathogenic infections. However in vivo tissue expression of TLR4 and distribution pattern of eosinophils and mast cells in chicken bursa of Fabricius (BF) during Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium (STm) infection is poorly studied. Therefore, herein, following immunostaining, we found localization of TLR4 in follicular cortex and medulla and its expression was statistical increased after 36 h and 72 h of STm stimulation. Chromotrope 2R staining revealed that eosinophils were mostly distributed in follicular cortex, inter-follicular spaces and in or around blood vessels and their number in BF were statistical increased after 72 h of STm stimulation. The presence of eosinophils was confirmed using immunostaining with anti-rabbit eosinophil cationic protein antibody. Toluidine blue stained mast cells were mostly distributed in connective tissues between inter-follicular spaces while some were also present in follicular cortex of BF. However, STm stimulation illustrated non-significant effect on the number of mast cells or their de-granulation, instead their number were gradually decreased in BF with advancement in age of chickens. Hence, this study provided novel information about in vivo tissue distribution of TLR4, eosinophils and mast cells in BF during STm infection.