Exploring the impact of the host defense peptide Pap12-6 on immune response and epithelial integrity in chicken-derived ileal explant cultures
Due to the spread of antimicrobial resistance, there is an urgent need to search for novel antimicrobial agents. In poultry farming, animals are constantly exposed to enteral pathogens and are simultaneously required to maintain high production performance, making it challenging to preserve enteral...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2025-08-01
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| Series: | Poultry Science |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0032579125006194 |
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| Summary: | Due to the spread of antimicrobial resistance, there is an urgent need to search for novel antimicrobial agents. In poultry farming, animals are constantly exposed to enteral pathogens and are simultaneously required to maintain high production performance, making it challenging to preserve enteral homeostasis. Host defense peptides (HDP), regarded as putative antibiotic substitutes, have been considered beneficial for poultry gut health; however, many peptides have yet to be investigated from this perspective. In the present study, chicken ileal explant cultures were used to examine the effects of the HDP Pap12-6 (PAP) on enteral immune state and tight junction (TJ) protein abundance. The peptide was applied at 25 and 50 µg/ml concentrations alone (PAP-low and PAP-high, respectively) and in inflammatory conditions evoked by polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid (Poly I:C, 50 µg/ml), at the same doses (PI:C+PAP-low and PI:C+PAP-high, respectively). According to the results, PAP did not influence metabolic activity and extracellular lactate dehydrogenase activity, hence the viability of the explants. Regarding the immune state, the level of interleukin (IL)-2 was increased by PAP-low, PAP-high, and PI:C+PAP-low, whereas IL-8 concentration was raised by PI:C+PAP-low treatment. Furthermore, PI:C+PAP-high decreased the elevated interferon (IFN)-γ production caused by Poly I:C. In the case of TJ proteins, PAP-low elevated the expression of occludin, whereas PAP-high increased the abundance of claudin-3. Conclusively, PAP displayed immunomodulatory effects and may have contributed to epithelial integrity without being cytotoxic, suggesting its potential as an antibiotic alternative in poultry farming. However, the detailed mechanism of action and concentration-dependent activity of PAP must be elucidated in the future. |
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| ISSN: | 0032-5791 |