Interaction of Chicken Heterophils and <i>Eimeria tenella</i> Results in Different Phenotypes of Heterophil Extracellular Traps (HETs)
Zaida Rentería-Solís,
Liliana M. R. Silva,
Thomas Grochow,
Runhui Zhang,
Tran Nguyen-Ho-Bao,
Arwid Daugschies,
Anja Taubert,
Iván Conejeros,
Carlos Hermosilla
Affiliations
Zaida Rentería-Solís
Institute of Parasitology, Centre for Infection Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Leipzig University, An den Tierkliniken 35, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
Liliana M. R. Silva
Institute of Parasitology, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Schubertstr. 81, 35392 Giessen, Germany
Thomas Grochow
Institute of Parasitology, Centre for Infection Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Leipzig University, An den Tierkliniken 35, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
Runhui Zhang
Institute of Parasitology, Centre for Infection Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Leipzig University, An den Tierkliniken 35, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
Tran Nguyen-Ho-Bao
Institute of Parasitology, Centre for Infection Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Leipzig University, An den Tierkliniken 35, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
Arwid Daugschies
Institute of Parasitology, Centre for Infection Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Leipzig University, An den Tierkliniken 35, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
Anja Taubert
Institute of Parasitology, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Schubertstr. 81, 35392 Giessen, Germany
Iván Conejeros
Institute of Parasitology, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Schubertstr. 81, 35392 Giessen, Germany
Carlos Hermosilla
Institute of Parasitology, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Schubertstr. 81, 35392 Giessen, Germany
Chicken coccidiosis causes annual losses exceeding GBP 10 billion globally. The most pathogenic species for domestic fowls including Eimeria tenella, E. acervulina, and E. maxima, can lead to gastrointestinal issues ranging from mild to fatal. In this study, stages of E. tenella and freshly isolated chicken heterophils were co-cultured for 180 min. These interactions were analyzed using live 3D holotomographic and confocal microscopy. We observed that E. tenella stages were entrapped by heterophils and heterophil extracellular traps (HETs). Notably, different HET phenotypes, specifically sprHETs and aggHETs, were induced regardless of the stage. Furthermore, the quantification of extracellular DNA release from co-cultures of heterophils and sporozoites (ratio 1:1) for 180 min demonstrated a significantly higher release (p = 0.04) compared to negative controls. In conclusion, research on the chicken innate immune system, particularly fowl-derived HETs, remains limited. More detailed investigations are needed, such as exploring the time-dependent triggering of HETs, to establish a standard incubation time for this pathogen defense mechanism. This will enhance our understanding of its role in parasite survival or death during HET confrontation.
