Chicken interleukin-6 as a productivity enhancer in broiler chickens

Abstract

Concerns regarding antibiotic resistance have prompted authorities to review their use in livestock industries in Australia (JETACAR, 1999). Since the prohibition of in-feed antibiotics by the European Union in 1999, alternative therapies have been sought to ensure that the current productivity of the world chicken meat industry is maintained. This study investigated the immuno-stimulatory effects of chicken interleukin-6 (ChIL-6) after it was injected into broilers. Day-old male broiler chicks (Cobb) were divided into three groups of 25 birds each. Control birds received a 1 mL injection of sterile phosphate buffer solution (PBS) immediately post-hatch, intra-abdominally. Treatment group I (ChIL-6 Day 0) received a 1 mL intra-abdominal injection of ChIL-6 (440flg/ml in PBS). Treatment 2 (ChIL6 Day 2) received the same treatment, but 48 hours later. After 35 days, blood was collected, and the birds were euthanased by cervical dislocation. The spleen and Bursa of Fabricus were removed and weighed... Peripheral blood lymphocytes were measured in vitro for their ability to proliferate and to secrete ChIL-6 in response to mitogenic stimulation...