Characterization of TCRβ and IGH Repertoires in the Spleen of Two Chicken Lines with Differential ALV-J Susceptibility Under Normal and Infection Conditions
Meihuizi Wang,
Qihong Zhang,
Rongyang Ju,
Junliang Xia,
Chengxun Xu,
Weiding Chen,
Xiquan Zhang
Affiliations
Meihuizi Wang
State Key Laboratory of Swine and Poultry Breeding Industry, Guangdong Provincial Key Lab of Agro-Animal Genomics and Molecular Breeding, College of Animal Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China
Qihong Zhang
State Key Laboratory of Swine and Poultry Breeding Industry, Guangdong Provincial Key Lab of Agro-Animal Genomics and Molecular Breeding, College of Animal Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China
Rongyang Ju
State Key Laboratory of Swine and Poultry Breeding Industry, Guangdong Provincial Key Lab of Agro-Animal Genomics and Molecular Breeding, College of Animal Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China
Junliang Xia
State Key Laboratory of Swine and Poultry Breeding Industry, Guangdong Provincial Key Lab of Agro-Animal Genomics and Molecular Breeding, College of Animal Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China
Chengxun Xu
State Key Laboratory of Swine and Poultry Breeding Industry, Guangdong Provincial Key Lab of Agro-Animal Genomics and Molecular Breeding, College of Animal Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China
Weiding Chen
State Key Laboratory of Swine and Poultry Breeding Industry, Guangdong Provincial Key Lab of Agro-Animal Genomics and Molecular Breeding, College of Animal Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China
Xiquan Zhang
State Key Laboratory of Swine and Poultry Breeding Industry, Guangdong Provincial Key Lab of Agro-Animal Genomics and Molecular Breeding, College of Animal Science, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China
This study investigates the immunological factors underlying the differential susceptibility of two chicken strains, E- and M-lines, to avian leukosis virus subgroup J (ALV-J). During the eradication of avian leukosis at a chicken breeder farm in Guangdong, we observed strain-specific differences in susceptibility to ALV-J. Moreover, E-line chickens exhibited a slower antibody response to ALV-J compared to M-line chickens. As the T cell receptor (TCR) and B cell receptor (BCR) are critical for antigen recognition, their activation triggers specific immune responses, including antibody production. Using high-throughput sequencing, we characterized the T cell receptor beta (TCRβ) and immunoglobulin heavy chain (IGH) repertoires in spleen tissues from both chicken strains. The M-line demonstrated higher clonal diversity in both TCRβ and IGH repertoires under normal conditions compared to the E-line, suggesting a broader baseline antigen recognition capacity. Following ALV-J infection, the TCRβ repertoire diversity remained unchanged, while the IGH repertoire displayed distinct clonal expansion patterns and complementarity-determining region 3 (CDR3) length distributions between the two lines, potentially affecting their ability to recognize ALV-J antigens. Our study provides the first comprehensive comparison of TCRβ and IGH repertoire dynamics in chickens with different ALV-J susceptibilities, offering new insights into the molecular and immunological mechanisms underlying resistance to ALV-J.
