Chicken γδ T lymphocytes are present in a variety of tissues such as blood, spleen and intestine. They constitute a major cytotoxic population. In chicken, Salmonella immunization as well as vaccination against Newcastle disease virus are accompanied by an increase of γδ T lymphocytes in peripheral blood, which may be activated, and thus represent a protective immune response. It has been published that activation of avian γδ T cells can occur in a MHC non-restricted manner. Ulvans are complex sulfated polysaccharides composed of disaccharide repetitions found in the cell walls of green algae belonging to the genus Ulva. We recently demonstrated that a purified ulvan extract activates chicken heterophils and monocytes in vivo through TLR2 and TLR4 receptors when given in drinking water. We demonstrate here, that the same extract given once in drinking water at 25 and 50 mg/l, results in increased membrane expression of Major Histocompatibility Complex class 2 as soon as day 2, as detected using flow cytometry. We conclude chicken γδ T lymphocytes to be activated, or at least primed, in vivo, with the extract. Further experiments are required to fully understand whether their activation or priming is the result of direct and/or indirect mechanisms.

鸡γ δ T淋巴细胞存在于多种组织，例如血液，脾和肠。它们构成主要的细胞毒性群体。在鸡中，沙门氏菌免疫以及新城疫病毒疫苗接种伴随着外周血中γδT淋巴细胞的增加，可能被激活，因此代表了保护性免疫反应。已经发表了禽 γ δ T 细胞的激活可以以 MHC 非限制性方式发生。石莼是一种复杂的硫酸化多糖，由石莼属绿藻细胞壁中发现的双糖重复组成。我们最近证明，在饮用水中给予纯化的 ulvan 提取物时，可通过 TLR2 和 TLR4 受体在体内激活鸡的嗜异性细胞和单核细胞。我们在此证明，如使用流式细胞术检测到的，在 25 和 50 毫克/升的饮用水中给予一次相同的提取物，在第 2 天就会导致主要组织相容性复合体 2 类的膜表达增加。我们得出结论，鸡 γ δ T 淋巴细胞在体内被该提取物激活，或至少被激活。需要进一步的实验来充分了解它们的激活或启动是否是直接和/或间接机制的结果。