First Funding Period
FOR5130 ImmunoChick – Unravelling the avian immune response in the context of infection
The objective of ImmunoChick is to understand the avian immune system, focusing on the adaptive immune response and its interactions with the most relevant pathogens by developing and using novel technologies. The recently generated B and T cell knockout chickens offer unprecedented opportunities to investigate the interaction between different cell types of the immune system.
In the first funding period, these tools, uniquely available to this group, were successfully applied to address our overall objective through three specific aims:
- γδ T cells: We investigated the role of γδ T cells in disease pathogenesis and vaccine-induced protection, uncovering key functional aspects of this lymphocyte subset.
- αβ T cell knockout chickens: We successfully generated and characterized αβ T cell knockout chickens.
- Lymphocyte populations & genetic systems: We analyzed previously underexplored lymphocyte populations and established new reverse genetic systems, enabling targeted functional studies in future research.