Analysis of Salmonella enterica serotype Enteritidis isolated from human and chickens by repetitive sequence-PCR fingerprinting, antibiotic resistance and plasmid profiles

A total of 22 Salmonella enterica serotype Enteritidis (S. Enteritidis) strains isolated from human and chicken were subjected to DNA fingerprinting by repetitive sequence PCR using ERIC and BOX primers, antibiotic resistance and plasmid patterns. Both ERIC and BOX PCR amplification data revealed a highly genetic homogeneity between isolates from human and chicken except one isolate, which originated from chicken and showed a different DNA band pattern from others. Eleven of 22 S. Enteritidis isolates (50%) were resistant to more than one antibiotics and characterized by 5 resistance patterns. The most common pattern was penicillin resistant (63.6%). Only one isolate from chicken showed a multiple drug resistance patterns to 4 antibiotics. All 22 S. Enteritidis isolates harbored more than two plasmids with eight different plasmid profiles including two to six plasmids with approximate molecular size ranging from 1.9 to 21 kb. A band of 15 kb size was detected in all isolates tested, however, the band sizes smaller than 15 kb were found only in isolates from chicken.     

Comparative Impact of Live Chicken Infectious Anaemia Virus Vaccine versus Natural Exposure in Meat Chicken Breeders on Immunity to Infectivity by CIA and Inclusion Body Hepatitis Viruses in Their Offspring

The immunology and histopathology and the distribution of viral antigen in infections with chicken infectious anaemia virus (CIAV) and inclusion body hepatitis virus (IBHV) were compared in the broiler offspring of CIAV-vaccinated meat chicken breeders versus those in the offspring of breeders naturally exposed to field CIAV. No significant difference in the humoral antibody level specific for CIAV was observed between 5 and 33 weeks of age in the two breeder groups (p>0.05). The maternal humoral immunity to CIAV in the day-old offspring of the groups did not differ significantly (p>0.05). The humoral immunity to CIAV at 40 days of age indicated an absence of clinical signs of CIAV in the broiler offspring of both groups of breeders and this was associated with mean serum thymulin levels in offspring of both groups not differing significantly at 1 or 40 days of age. Histopathological and immunofluorescence observations did not differ significantly in the offspring of either group by CIAV or IBHV.     

Detection of mutations in the gyrA gene and class I integron from quinolone-resistant Salmonella enterica serovar Choleraesuis isolates in Taiwan

The quinolone resistance-determining regions (QRDRs) of the gyrA gene of quinolone-resistant Salmonella enterica serovar Choleraesuis isolates were sequenced. Four types of point mutation, Ser-83-to-Phe (TCC→TTC), Ser-83-to-Tyr (TCC→TAC), Asp-87-to-Gly (GAC→GGC), and Asp-87-to-Asn (GAC→AAC), were found. PCR-RFLP and MAS-touch down PCR were performed on fifty swine clinical isolates of S. enterica serovar Choleraesuis (Nal^R) collected during 1997–2002. The analysis indicated seven isolates with point mutations in codon 83, 13 with point mutations in codon 87, and 30 with double mutations in both codons 83 and 87. The MICs of enrofloxacin of the isolates with a single mutation in codon 83 or 87 were <2 μg/ml, while the MICs of the isolates with double mutations in both codon 83 and 87 ranged from 2 to 64 μg/ml. A class I integron comprised of dhfr, orfF and aad2 was also identified in both human and swine S. enterica serovar Choleraesuis isolates. These results indicate that PCR-RFLP and MAS-touchdown PCR assays can be used for surveillance of gyrA gene mutations, which are important for fluoroquinolone resistance in Salmonella. Isolates with double mutations in gyrA codons 83 and 87 are the major type of quinolone-resistant Salmonella isolated from swine in Taiwan. A surveillance system may be applied to the swine industry to monitor the emergence of fluoroquinolone and/or multi-drug-resistant S. enterica serovar Choleraesuis in Taiwan.     

Passive protection against Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis infection from maternally derived antibodies of hens vaccinated with a ghost vaccine

This study evaluated maternal immunity against Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis acquired through the egg yolk. Two-hundred 19-week-old specific pathogen free (SPF) broiler breeders which were randomly divided into two groups of equal size were injected with S. Enteritidis ghosts (5 × 10⁹ colony forming units in 0.1 ml per hen) and phosphate-buffered saline (PBS, 0.01 mol⋅l⁻¹, pH 7.4) twice, respectively, with an interval of 2 weeks. An indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was applied to detect specific antibodies against S. Enteritidis. S. Enteritidis-specific antibody levels in the vaccinated group increased over time and were significantly higher than those of the control group on days 28 (P < 0.001) and 35 (P < 0.001) post-vaccination. Ten 7-day-old chicks from hens that were vaccinated with a S. Enteritidis ghost vaccine were challenged at 14 days of age with 5 × 10⁹ CFU of S. Enteritidis DH091 (homologous to the vaccine strain), 8/10 (80%) chicks from vaccinated hens survived, whereas 3/10 (30%) chicks from unvaccinated hens survived. The chicks acquired high levels of serum antibodies against S. Enteritidis. These results reveal that maternal antibodies in chicks acquired from vaccinated hens through eggs can confer a significant protection against S. Enteritidis infection.     

1株鸡源肠炎沙门氏菌的分离鉴定及致病性分析

【目的】确定云南某蛋鸡场送检的疑似沙门氏菌病病料中的主要病原菌种类,并测定其致病性及药物敏感性。【方法】通过细菌分离培养、形态观察、生化试验、血清学鉴定及分子学方法进行细菌分离鉴定;通过对鸡的致病性试验及毒力基因检测分析分离菌的致病性;通过药物敏感性试验检测分离菌耐药情况。【结果】分离菌株在沙门氏菌显色培养基上形成紫色菌落,镜检为革兰氏阴性短杆菌,疑为沙门氏菌,命名为S2;生化试验结果显示,菌株S2赖氨酸脱羧酶、硫化氢、卫矛醇试验结果均为阳性;靛基质、尿素酶、氰化钾、山梨醇、水杨苷、β-半乳糖苷、丙二酸盐生化试验结果均为阴性,判断菌株S2为典型沙门氏菌属;血清学鉴定结果显示,菌株S2属于D群肠炎沙门氏菌,其抗原式为1,9,12:g,m;遗传进化分析结果显示,菌株S2与肠炎沙门氏菌MT621365处于同一分支,自展值为99%;致病性试验结果表明,分离菌株对雏鸡有较强的致病性,感染6 d后雏鸡全部死亡(10/10);毒力基因检测结果显示,菌株S2携带invJ、hilA、ssaB、misL、mgtC、orf319、sopB、spvA、spvB、spvC、spvR、stn和fimA毒力基因,不携带sopA、fliC毒力基因;菌株S2对多数抗菌药敏感程度很高,对阿莫西林-克拉维酸、头孢西丁、四环素等12种抗菌药均敏感,对甲氧嘧啶、复方新诺明和林可霉素耐药。【结论】本研究分离到了1株肠炎沙门氏菌,其毒力较强,可造成雏鸡较高的死亡率,对大部分常用抗菌药敏感,对甲氧嘧啶、复方新诺明和林可霉素具有耐药性。本研究结果可为沙门氏菌病的临床诊断和药物有效性评价提供一定参考依据。     

Evaluation of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium and Choleraesuis slyA mutant strains for use in live attenuated oral vaccines

SlyA protein plays a key role in virulence in Salmonella enterica. In this study, we evaluated the ability of the slyA mutant strain of S. enterica serovar Choleraesuis (S. choleraesuis) to protect against swine salmonellosis. Using a murine model infected with S. enterica serovar Typhimurium (S. typhimurium), we showed that the Salmonella strain with a deletion of slyA could be used as a highly immunogenic, effective and safe vaccine in mice. Based on these data, a slyA mutant of S. enterica serovar Choleraesuis strain RF-1 was constructed, and the ability of this mutant to protect immunized pigs from S. choleraesuis infection was examined. As with the S. typhimurium slyA mutant, immunization of pigs with the S. choleraesuis slyA mutant strain provided significant protection against subsequent challenge by the wild-type RF-1. These results demonstrate that SlyA is a potential target in the development of a novel live attenuated vaccine against S. enterica.     

一株肠炎沙门氏菌鞭毛基因FliC的克隆及生物信息学分析

本研究旨在对肠炎沙门氏菌（Salmonella Enteritidis）鞭毛蛋白FliC基因进行克隆,并对所获序列进行生物信息学分析。提取该菌基因组DNA作为模板,参考GenBank中肠炎沙门氏菌FliC基因序列设计1对引物,利用PCR克隆获得FliC基因,将其插入到克隆载体中进行测序,应用生物信息学软件分析该基因的核苷酸和氨基酸序列,利用BLAST进行同源性比对,并构建系统进化树,同时对该基因编码蛋白的理化性质、亲水性、信号肽、跨膜结构域、糖基化位点和B细胞抗原表位、二级结构、三级结构等进行分析。结果显示,试验成功克隆了1 518 bp的目的基因,编码505个氨基酸。同源性比对发现,FliC基因相对保守,与大肠杆菌属有较高的同源性。该蛋白的化学分子式为C₂₂₅₄H₃₇₀₁N₆₅₇O₈₀₃S₄,理论分子质量为52.981 ku,理论等电点为4.91;不稳定指数为16.86,是稳定存在的亲水蛋白质。结构分析结果显示,该蛋白没有信号肽或跨膜结构域,但具有8个N-糖基化位点、13个O-糖基化位点和60个磷酸化位点,同时还含有26个B细胞线性结合位点和5个T细胞结合位点。二级结构分析显示,α-螺旋、β-转角、延伸链和无规卷曲分别占43.76%、3.76%、20.99%和31.49%。本试验成功克隆了肠炎沙门氏菌鞭毛基因FliC,并对其序列结构进行了分析,为进一步研究鞭毛在肠炎沙门致病过程中的作用及基因工程疫苗的研制提供理论依据。     

沙门氏菌载体在疫苗应用中的研究进展

沙门氏菌不仅可以用作疫苗,也是理想的疫苗载体,已受到医学与兽医学的广泛重视。其主要优点包括:沙门氏菌可以经黏膜途径免疫(口服或鼻内),操作方便,对接种对象刺激小。此外,沙门氏菌为胞内侵袭细菌,能有效递呈抗原,激发抗沙门氏菌和诱导外源蛋白的特异性体液免疫反应与细胞免疫反应,并能同时诱导黏膜免疫与全身免疫。作者对沙门氏菌的入侵机制、免疫机理及其在疫苗中的应用状况进行了综述,为新型疫苗的研究提供参考。     

A multiplex real-time PCR for differential detection and quantification of Salmonella spp., Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium and Enteritidis in meats

Salmonella (S.) Typhimurium and S. Enteritidis are the major causative agents of food-borne illnesses worldwide. Currently, a rapid detection system using multiplex real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) has been applied for other food-borne pathogens such as Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus spp. A multiplex real-time PCR was developed for the simultaneous detection of Salmonella spp., especially S. Typhimurium and S. Enteritidis, in beef and pork. For the specific and sensitive multiplex real-time PCR, three representative primers and probes were designed based on sequence data from Genbank. Among the three DNA extraction methods (boiling, alkaline lysis, and QIAamp DNA Mini Kit), the QIAamp DNA Mini Kit was the most sensitive in this study. The optimized multiplex real-time PCR was applied to artificially inoculated beef or pork. The detection sensitivity of the multiplex real-time PCR was increased. The specificity of the multiplex real-time PCR assay, using 128 pure-cultured bacteria including 110 Salmonella isolates and 18 non-Salmonella isolates, was 100%, 100% and 99.1% for Salmonella spp., S. Typhimurium and S. Enteritidis, respectively. The sensitivity was 100%, 100% and 91.7% for Salmonella spp., S. Typhimurium and S. Enteritidis, respectively. The multiplex real-time PCR assay developed in this study could detect up to 0.54 ± 0.09 and 0.65 ± 0.07 log₁₀ CFU/ml for S. Typhimurium and S. Enteritidis for beef, 1.45 ± 0.21 and 1.65 ± 0.07 log₁₀ CFU/ml for S. Typhimurium and S. Enteritidis for pork, respectively, with all conditions optimized. Our results indicated that the multiplex real-time PCR assay developed in this study could sensitively detect Salmonella spp. and specifically differentiate S. Typhimurium from S. Enteritidis in meats.     

The role of rpoS,hmp, and ssrAB in Salmonella enterica Gallinarum and evaluation of a triple-deletion mutant as a live vaccine candidate in Lohmann layer chickens

Salmonella enterica Gallinarum (SG) causes fowl typhoid (FT), a septicemic disease in avian species. We constructed deletion mutants lacking the stress sigma factor RpoS, the nitric oxide (NO)-detoxifying flavohemoglobin Hmp, and the SsrA/SsrB regulator to confirm the functions of these factors in SG. All gene products were fully functional in wild-type (WT) SG whereas mutants harboring single mutations or a combination of rpoS, hmp, and ssrAB mutations showed hypersusceptibility to H₂O₂, loss of NO metabolism, and absence of Salmonella pathogenicity island (SPI)-2 expression, respectively. A triple-deletion mutant, SGΔ3 (SGΔrpoSΔhmpΔssrAB), was evaluated for attenuated virulence and protection efficacy in two-week-old Lohmann layer chickens. The SGΔ3 mutant did not cause any mortality after inoculation with either 1 × 10⁶ or 1 × 10⁸ colony-forming units (CFUs) of bacteria. Significantly lower numbers of salmonellae were recovered from the liver and spleen of chickens inoculated with the SGΔ3 mutant compared to chickens inoculated with WT SG. Vaccination with the SGΔ3 mutant conferred complete protection against challenge with virulent SG on the chickens comparable to the group vaccinated with a conventional vaccine strain, SG9R. Overall, these results indicate that SGΔ3 could be a promising candidate for a live Salmonella vaccine against FT.     

西藏拉萨市鸡源沙门氏菌分子生物学鉴定与血清分型

鸡源沙门氏菌作为重要的食源性病原菌,其血清型分布和致病性研究对于维护公共卫生安全具有重要意义。本研究分别在西藏拉萨市养鸡密集的城关区、曲水县、达孜县、墨竹工卡县、堆龙德庆县5个地区,选择12个养鸡场,采集疑似发病鸡样品121份,最终分离鉴定出104株沙门氏菌。血清学鉴定结果显示,这104株沙门氏菌分属于4个血清群,其中A群(O2)13株、C1群(O7)29株、C2群(O8)9株、D群(O9)53株;优势血清群为D群(51%),其次为C1群(27%)。PCR扩增结果显示,这104株沙门氏菌和标准阳性对照均扩增出inv A基因片断,表明均为致病性沙门氏菌。动物致病性试验结果显示,7日龄雏鸡接种后感染率可达100%。上述结果表明,拉萨市鸡源沙门氏菌流行较为普遍,且均有致病性,会对当地禽产品卫生安全带来威胁,因此西藏地区需要加强鸡源沙门氏菌的控制。     

Multiple genetic typing of Salmonella Enteritidis phage-types 4, 6, 7, 8 and 13a isolates from animals and humans in the UK

Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis is a common cause of salmonellosis in people in the UK. This study aimed to assess the degree of genetic diversity among animal and human isolates from UK, Wales and northern Ireland. A total of 250 isolates from humans (n=59) and animals or their environment (n=191), belonging to the most common phage-types, were fingerprinted by a combination of PFGE, PS ribotyping and plasmid profiling. The different techniques identified different degrees of polymorphism (PS ribotyping (52 types)>PFGE (22 types)>plasmid profiling (17 types)). A prevalent genomic clone, as well as a variety of less frequent clones are present for each of the phage-types. In most cases, the prevalent clones appeared within isolates from several animal species and from several geographical locations. The percentage of sporadic clones found in animal and human populations were very similar. There was not clear evidence of a higher degree of diversity for human or animal isolates. Some clones were found to be present in both human and animal.     

Molecular typing of Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis isolates from food-producing animals in Japan by multilocus variable-number tandem repeat analysis: evidence of clonal dissemination and replacement

Background

Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis is a zoonotic pathogen. Human infections are associated with contaminated eggs and egg products. In Japan, since 1989, the incidence of food-borne disease caused by S. Enteritidis has increased and a pandemic has occurred; however, little is known about changes that occurred before and after this pandemic event in the dominant lineage of isolates from food-producing animals. This study aimed to determine the S. Enteritidis lineages in Japan over the last few decades by using multilocus variable-number tandem repeat analysis (MLVA).

Findings

MLVA was used to analyse 79 S. Enteritidis isolates collected from chickens (n = 63), cattle (n = 12), pigs (n = 2), and goats (n = 2) during 1975–2009. The S. Enteritidis isolates showed 14 different MLVA allele combinations, which were classified into two major clusters (A and C) and a minor cluster (B). All the 62 isolates in cluster A were isolated after 1988, whereas 13 of the 17 isolates belonging to cluster B and C were isolated before 1989.

Conclusions

The MLVA results showed that cluster C was predominant before 1989, and isolates in cluster A disseminated since 1989 and replaced the previous dominant clone, suggesting that isolates of cluster A originated from imported S. Enteritidis infection.     

Characterization of adaptive immune responses induced by a new genetically inactivated Salmonella Enteritidis vaccine

The superior conservation of antigenic determinants on the surface of genetically inactivated bacterial ghosts makes them attractive immunogenic inactivated vaccine candidates. The efficacy of Salmonella Enteritidis (SE) ghost vaccination was evaluated in chickens by characterizing the nature of the adaptive immune response. Chickens from the immunized group demonstrated significant increases in SE-specific plasma IgG, intestinal secretory IgA, and lymphocyte proliferative response. The populations of CD4, CD8, and TCR γδ T-cells in immunized chickens were significantly greater than in the controls. Increased levels of IFN-γ, IL-2, IL-6 and IL-10 were observed in peripheral blood mononuclear cells stimulated with SE specific antigen. After virulent SE challenge, the immune system of immunized chickens was rapidly stimulated, as indicated by significantly increased population of CD4 and CD8 T-cells. Furthermore, the immunized group exhibited decreased challenge strain recovery of the internal organs compared to the non-immunized group. Together, these data indicate that the immunization induced humoral and cell-mediated immunity might be responsible for significant reduction of the virulent challenge strain load in the internal organs of immunized chickens.     

陕西某种鸡场大肠埃希菌血清型调查与灭活苗研制

为控制大肠埃希菌病的危害,对从陕西某种鸡场分离鉴定的20株鸡大肠埃希菌进行了血清型调查,结果O2型5株、O6型3株、O78型4株,未定型8株,表明鸡场的大肠埃希菌有了新的流行菌株O6出现。用定型的分离菌株研制的自家灭活菌苗免疫接种雏鸡,7 d后可检测到抗体,14 d产生免疫保护力。29日龄二免,90 d后抗体水平仍在5log2以上。119日龄三免,免疫后5个月抗体水平仍维持较高,但6个月后,抗体水平已在5 log2以下,失去保护力。通过3年的应用,该场种鸡大肠埃希菌病的平均死亡率由6.7%下降至1.6%,雏鸡死亡率由4.2%下降至1.8%,差异极显著(P<0.01)。     

复方鸡脾组织提取液及紫术散对鸡新城疫疫苗的增益效应

复方鸡脾组织提取液和中药紫术散可使鸡新城疫(ND)疫苗诱导的鸡血清抗体效价显著上升,维持时间延长,并能提高鸡外周血B淋巴细胞EAC花环形成率、T淋巴细胞ANAE阳性率和大颗粒淋巴细胞(LGL)的百分率.由此认为,这两种制剂对鸡ND苗诱导的体液免疫和细胞免疫都具有促进效应,可作为免疫增效剂.     

Systemic and mucosal immunity induced by attenuated Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium expressing ORF7 of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus

Oral administration of attenuated Salmonella vaccine may provide valuable advantages such as low cost, easy preparation, and safety. Attenuated Salmonella vaccines also serve as carriers of foreign antigens and immunomodulatory cytokines. Presently, an attenuated Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium strain was used as a carrier for open reading frame 7 (ORF7) protein of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV), a swine pathogen of significant global economic importance. Initially, an attenuated S. enterica serovar Typhimurium expressing ORF7 gene derived from PRRSV Korean isolate was constructed. Following oral administration of a single dose of the attenuated Salmonella vaccine expressing PRRSV ORF7, humoral and cell-mediated immune responses specific for ORF7 were induced at both systemic and mucosal sites including spleen, mesenteric lymph node, Peyer's patch, and laminar propria, as evaluated by determining serum ORF7-specific IgG and mucosal IgA responses, as well as Th1- and Th2-type cytokine production from antigen-stimulated T cells. The induced humoral responses were sustained for at least 12 weeks post-immunization. In particular, the immunized mice displayed immune responses to both the foreign ORF7 antigen and Salmonella itself. The results indicate the value of attenuated S. enterica serovar Typhimurium as an oral carrier of PRRSV antigenic proteins to induce effective systemic and mucosal immunity.     

Comparative Efficacy of Various Toxoids Against Salmonellosis in Poultry

An attempt was made to develop a vaccine against salmonellosis in poultry by formalizing the Salmonella toxins (enterotoxin plus cytotoxins) that have been found to be the main virulent products of the organisms. Formalized (FT) and carbonated (CT) toxoids were prepared from partially purified toxins of Salmonella enterica subspecies enterica ser. Weltevreden (BM-1643) and S. enterica ser. Gallinarum (L-19/a). There was no mortality in birds vaccinated with formalized toxoid of serovar Weltevreden plus Freund's complete adjuvant (FCA) following homologous or heterologous (S. enterica ser. Gallinarum and S. enterica ser. Typhimurium) challenges. Protection ranged from 50% to 83.3% in the groups immunized with other preparations of S. enterica ser. Weltevreden, i.e. with FT without FCA or with CT with or without FCA. Formalized toxoid prepared from S. enterica ser. Gallinarum (FTSG) toxins given with FCA afforded 100% protection against homologous challenge, but not against heterologous serovars. In the control group, only 16.7% of the birds survived in a subgroup challenged with S. enterica ser. Gallinarum, and none withstood challenge with S. enterica ser. Weltevreden or S. enterica ser. Typhimurium. No untoward reactions were observed in any of the immunized groups. Thus, the vaccine was considered to be potent and safe.     

Age at primary infection with Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium in the chicken influences persistence of infection and subsequent immunity to re-challenge

Salmonella enterica remains one of the most important food-borne pathogens of humans and is often acquired through consumption of infected poultry meat or eggs. Control of Salmonella infections in chicken is therefore an important public health issue. Infection with S. enterica serovar Typhimurium results in a persistent enteric infection without clinical disease in chickens of more than 3 days of age, and represents a source for contamination of carcass at slaughter and entry into the human food chain. Data presented indicate a profound effect of age at initial exposure on the persistence of infection and a lesser effect on the development of effective immunity to re-challenge. The percentage of birds positive for Salmonella was high until 8–9 weeks of age, regardless of the age at which the birds were infected (1, 3 or 6 weeks). The birds infected at 3 and 6 weeks of age produced a more rapid and higher antibody response (IgY and IgA) than those infected at 1 week of age, but in all cases infection persisted for a considerable period despite the presence of high antibody levels. Following a re-challenge infection with S. Typhimurium, all three previously-infected groups had fewer bacteria in the gut, spleen and liver compared with age-matched birds receiving a parallel primary infection. However, the birds primary infected at 3 and 6 weeks of age cleared infection more rapidly than those infected at a younger age. Interestingly older-primed birds had higher specific T lymphocyte proliferative responses and specific circulating levels of IgY antibody at time of re-challenge. Although birds initially infected at 1 week of age and those that were previously uninfected produced a stronger antibody response following re-challenge, they were slower to clear Salmonella from the gut than the older-primed groups which expressed a stronger T lymphocyte response. The data presented indicate that clearance of Salmonella from the gut is age-dependent and we propose that this relates to the increased competence of the enteric T cell response. The findings that Salmonella persists beyond 8–9 weeks, irrespective of age at exposure, has implications for the broiler sector and indicates the need to remain Salmonella free throughout the rearing period. Moreover, the re-challenge data demonstrates that infection at a young age is less effective in producing protective immunity than in older chickens. This feature of the development of protective immunity needs to be considered when developing vaccines for the broiler sector of the poultry industry.     

Improvement of bacterial clearance and relief of clinical signs of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium infection in pigs through upregulation of Th 1-specific responses by administration of a combination of two silicate minerals,biotite and bentonite

Biotite and bentonite are phyllosilicate minerals that were originally used inindustrial applications. Several beneficial activities of them have recently beenreported, especially regulation of the immune system and antimicrobial effects. Therefore,we investigated the immune-enhancing and bacterial clearance effects of a biotite andbentonite mixture (BBM) on experimental infection of Salmonella entericaserovar Typhimurium (S. Typhimurium) to determine whether the BBM couldbe used as an alternative antibiotic. We administered 1% or 2% BBM as a feed supplement.We then evaluated the bacterial clearance effects of the BBM against S.Typhimurium. We also evaluated the immune-enhancing effect of the BBM through severalimmunological experiments that included examination of the lysozyme activity,CD4⁺/CD8⁺ T lymphocyte ratio and the T-helper type 1 (Th 1)cytokine profile. The clinical signs of S. Typhimurium and the number ofviable bacteria in feces and tissues were significantly decreased in both BBM groups,especially in the 2% BBM group. The BBM also markedly enhanced the lysozyme activity,CD4⁺/CD8⁺ T lymphocyte ratio and expression levels of IFN-γ andIL-12 in S. Typhimurium-challenged pigs. Therefore, the BBM could be agood candidate as an alternative antibiotic that improves Th 1-specific immune responsesand the bacterial clearance effect.