M79 Dietary immunomodulation of gut immunity to enhance
disease resistance against mucosal pathogens. H. S. Lillehoj and S.
H. Lee*, ARS-USDA, Beltsville, MD.
For many economically important diseases of poultry, there is an increasing interest to develop drug-free alternative control strategies against
many infectious diseases due to increasing consumers’ concerns
about chemical residues in poultry meat. One promising new avenue
to achieve this goal is the use of natural and herbal products, hyperimmune IgY antibodies, oligodeoxynucleotides (ODNs), or probiotics
to enhance host defense against microbial infections. Recent studies
from our laboratory provided clear evidence that dietary supplements
which enhance innate immunity decreased immunopathology associated with infections with pathogenic enteric pathogens. In this report,
molecular changes associated with enhanced innate immunity following
dietary immunomodulation will be presented using microarray analysis.
Alternative prevention and/or treatment measures such as non-chemical
dietary supplements that effectively enhance productivity and activate
non-specific immunity will help limit the use of antibiotics. However,
there is a critical need for more fundamental research to understand
poultry immune system and host-pathogen immunobiology in order to
develop effective disease prevention strategy.