Work Package 1
Understanding the contribution of T cells in infectious bursal disease virus immunopathogenesis and vaccine protection
Infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV) is one of the most important immunosuppressive pathogens of poultry worldwide. While B lymphocytes are the main target cells of the virus, T lymphocytes are not only involved in controlling virus replication but may also interfere with the recovery of infected birds.
The specific role of the different T cell subsets in infectious bursal disease (IBD) remains unclear, and therefore needs to be further elucidated to develop more efficient IBD-vaccination strategies. Our overall goal of this project is to provide a better understanding of the role of different T cell subsets in the phases of IBD. We will infect chickens that lack specific T cell subsets with IBDV strains of different virulence and compare them to infected non transgenic hatch-mates.
Our specific aims are to determine the involvement of γδ T cells in IBDV pathogenesis and gut-associated immunity specifically in the acute phase of infection. Furthermore, we want to identify the involvement of αβ T cells in IBDV clearance and protection.
To assess the role of regulatory T cells in the recovery process, we will focus mainly on the post-acute phase of the disease. In addition, we aim to identify T cell epitopes, as possible targets for future vaccine candidates.
Principl investigator:
Prof. Dr. Silke Rautenschlein, PhD