AVIAN IMMUNE RESPONSE TO INFECTIOUS DISEASE

本子项目是利用由NIH/NCRR资助的中心赠款提供的资源的众多研究子项目之一。子项目和研究者（PI）可能已经从另一个NIH来源获得了主要资金，因此可以在其他CRISP条目中表示。列出的机构是中心的，不一定是研究者的机构。鸟类是人类传染病的主要传播媒介和宿主，容易受到环境污染物、干旱和其他环境压力因素的影响，这些因素可以破坏正常的生理功能，但不会引起禽类疾病。这些因素使禽类种群成为监测未来几十年预计出现的30种新的人畜共患疾病对人类健康和资源的潜在威胁的优秀哨点系统。一个主要的例子是目前使用圈养哨鸡来监测西尼罗病毒（WNV）的出现。然而，使用鸟类作为哨兵的一个主要缺点是缺乏一种强有力的基于科学的方法，可以在疾病传播到人类之前发现它。本提案的主要目标是为开发先进的哨兵生物监测系统奠定科学基础，该系统基于对鸟类种群健康的早期生物标志物的检测，这些生物标志物与环境中威胁人类健康和福祉的病原体有关。该项目以洛斯阿拉莫斯的独特资源为基础，包括一个已建立的鸟类巢箱网络，目前用作环境监测和减少风险的持续任务的一部分；结合国家流式细胞术资源和新的生物安全三级设施。该方法将开发一组新技术，用于对鸟类的功能性免疫反应、DNA损伤、病原体和寄生虫负荷进行采样和测量。一个由鸟类生态学家、分子微生物学家和技术专家组成的专家小组已经成立。主要产品将是一种创新的、灵敏的、准确的生物标志物面板，用于测量现场的反应。生物标志物小组将启用一种全新的能力，对我们国家检测和预测对人类健康、农业和野生动物的新威胁的能力具有潜在的深远影响

This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. Birds are a key transmission vector and host to human infectious diseases and are susceptible to environmental contaminants, drought, and other environmental stressors that can disrupt normal physiological functions without causing avian disease. These factors make avian populations excellent sentinel systems for monitoring potential threats to human health and resources from the predicted 30 new zoonotic diseases in the next few decades. A prime example is the current use of captive sentinel chickens to monitor the emergence of West Nile Virus (WNV). However, a major drawback to the use of birds as sentinels has been the lack of a strong science-based approach that would allow the detection of disease before it has progressed into the human population. The main objective of this proposal is to build a scientific foundation for developing an advanced state-of the-art sentinel biosurveillance system based on detection of early biomarkers of health in avian populations that are relevant to agents in the environment that also threaten human health and welfare. This project builds upon unique resources at Los Alamos including an established Avian Nestbox Network currently used as part of an ongoing mission in environmental monitoring and risk reduction; combined with the National Flow Cytometry Resource, and the new Biosafety Level-3 facility. The approach will be to develop a panel of new technologies for sampling and measuring functional immune response, DNA damage, and pathogen and parasite loads in birds. An expert team of avian ecologists, molecular microbiologists, and technologists has been assembled. The major product will be an innovative, sensitive, and accurate panel of biomarkers for measuring responses in the field. The biomarker panel will enable an entirely new capability with potential far-reaching impact on our nation¿s ability to detect and forecast emerging threats to human health, agriculture, and wildl