Gut microbial dysbiosis is associated with altered splenic immune homeostasis in chickens.

Yunpeng Huang, Jinghong Tian, Dexiang Zhang, Yibin Xu

Abstract read

In one paragraph

Article in Poultry science, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Yunpeng HuangState Key Laboratory of· Livestock· and Poultry Breeding, Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, South China Agricultural University, & Guangzhou Provincial Key Lab of Agro-Animal Genomics and Molecular Breeding, and Key Lab of Chicken Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affair, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, 510642, China.

Jinghong TianState Key Laboratory of· Livestock· and Poultry Breeding, Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, South China Agricultural University, & Guangzhou Provincial Key Lab of Agro-Animal Genomics and Molecular Breeding, and Key Lab of Chicken Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affair, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, 510642, China.

Dexiang ZhangState Key Laboratory of· Livestock· and Poultry Breeding, Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, South China Agricultural University, & Guangzhou Provincial Key Lab of Agro-Animal Genomics and Molecular Breeding, and Key Lab of Chicken Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affair, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, 510642, China.

Yibin XuState Key Laboratory of Swine and Poultry Breeding Industry & Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Breeding and Nutrition & Institute of Animal Science, Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Guangzhou, 510640, China; State Key Laboratory of· Livestock· and Poultry Breeding, Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, South China Agricultural University, & Guangzhou Provincial Key Lab of Agro-Animal Genomics and Molecular Breeding, and Key Lab of Chicken Genetics, Breeding and Reproduction, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affair, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, 510642, China. Electronic address: kyrie_xyb@163.com.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Gut microbiota plays a crucial role in animal health and immunity, and the broiler gut community is particularly sensitive during the early growing and finisher phases, when it is still maturing and immune development is active. In this study, we investigated the association between changes in the intestinal flora and splenic immune parameters in Qingyuan partridge chickens. A total of 40 twenty-week-old roosters were used. The results showed that antibiotic treatment (ABX) reduced the proportion (percentage) of splenic CD3+ T cells and increased the levels of inflammatory cytokines (IL-6, IL-1β, and TNF-α). Antibiotic treatment also reduced α- and β-diversity of the gut microbiota. Transcriptomic analysis identified 145 differentially expressed genes (DEGs, |log2FoldChange| > 1, Benjamini-Hochberg-adjusted P < 0.05) in the spleen, including CCR9, OPCML, and HEBP1, enriched in neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction, phagosome, and lysosome pathways. Antibiotic treatment reduced the relative abundance of Verrucomicrobiota and Actinobacteriota at the phylum level. At the genus level, Wilcoxon analysis showed Ligilactobacillus was reduced in ABX (P = 0.031), although LEfSe flagged it as ABX-enriched owing to a single high-abundance outlier. Microbacterium was consistently enriched in ABX. Correlation analysis revealed that Actinobacteriota and the genera Ligilactobacillus and Aeriscardovia were positively associated with CD3+ T-cell proportions. In summary, changes in gut microbiota were associated with altered splenic immune parameters in chickens.

Indexed as

AntibioticsCD3+ T cellChicken spleenGut microbiotaInflammatory cytokines

Identifiers

PMID42854499

DOI10.1016/j.psj.2026.107851

PMCPMC13677774

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.