Oligodeoxynucleotides containing CpG motifs (CpG-ODN) as an alternative to antibiotics in the broiler chicken industry

自2014年5月起，加拿大所有肉鸡孵化场停止使用抗生素控制早期肉鸡死亡率。因此，抗生素的替代品是鸡肉行业的优先事项。抗菌素耐药性的出现和传播是由众多相互关联的因素驱动的复杂问题，因此，动物疾病已成为基于免疫的控制方法的关注焦点。疫苗是一种众所周知的激活免疫系统以改善疾病保护的方法，但对某些疾病并不存在，当需要立即产生保护效果时，例如面对疾病暴发，疫苗可能不起作用。因此，产生保护性免疫的替代策略是必要的。免疫系统的“第一反应者”或先天成分通过将受感染的生物体的特征识别为“危险”信号来检测感染。其中一个危险信号是细菌DNA的一种特征模式，称为CpG基序(CpG-ODN)。我们已经证明了CpG-ODN对鸡的致死性细菌感染具有显著的保护作用。这项拟议的研究计划将通过呼吸系统的粘膜表面传递CpG-ODN来研究CpG-ODN在家禽孵化场初生肉鸡中的应用。我们将在孵化后立即在孵化场给初生肉鸡注射CpG-ODN，从而避免其他刺激对免疫系统的复杂影响。

The use of antibiotics to control early broiler chick mortality was discontinued from May, 2014 in all Canadian broiler chick hatcheries. Hence, alternatives to antibiotics are a priority in the chicken industry. The emergence and spread of antimicrobial resistance are complex problems driven by numerous interconnected factors, thus, diseases in animals has focused attention on immune based control methods. Vaccines are a well-known method to activate the immune system for improved disease protection, but they do not exist for some diseases and may not be effective when an immediate protective effect is required e.g., in the face of a disease outbreak. Therefore, alternate strategies to produce protective immunity are required. The "first responder" or innate component of the immune system detects an infection by recognizing features characteristic of the infectiousorganisms as "danger" signals. One of these danger signals is a pattern characteristic of bacterial DNA, known as CpG motifs (CpG-ODN). We have demonstrated a significant protective effect of CpG-ODN against lethal bacterial infections in chickens. This proposed research program will study the utility of CpG-ODN in neonatal broiler chickens at the poultry hatchery by delivering CpG-ODN through mucosal surfaces of the respiratory system. We will administer CpG-ODN in neonatal broilerchickens at the hatchery immediately following hatching, thus avoiding the complicating effects of other stimuli on the immune system.