The expression dynamics of IL-17 and Th17 response relative cytokines in the trachea and spleen of chickens after infection with Cryptosporidium baileyi

Background: cryptosporidium baileyi is the dominant cryptosporidium species in birds causing emerging health problems in the poultry industry,and is also a model to study the biology of cryptosporidium spp. il-17 (also called il-17a) is a hallmark pro-inflammatory cytokine of th17 cells that plays an important role in several human autoimmune diseases and microbial infection disease of many animals,and it may play a role in cryptosporidium infection. methods. the present study examined the mrna level of il-17 and th17 response relative cytokines in the trachea and spleen of c. baileyi-infected chickens at different time points using real-time quantitative pcr (qpcr). results: all examined cytokines in the trachea were up-regulated in the infected chickens compared with the uninfected control during c. baileyi infection. significant increased il-17 mrna level in the trachea was observed as early as 12 h post infection (pi),peaking at 24 h pi and 10 d pi,and declining thereafter. the transcription levels of il-17 and th17 response relative cytokines in spleen were also significantly increased at different time points during the infection. conclusions: il-17 was indicated to participate in the induction of inflammation during infection of some intracellular protozoan parasites. the results in the present study suggest that il-17 may play a role in immunity against cryptosporidium infection,and provide basic information for determining the role of th17 cell in cryptosporidium infection. © 2014zhao et al.; licensee biomed central ltd.