Comparative Toll-like receptor profiling reveals breed-specific innate immune architecture following Newcastle disease vaccination.
7 affiliations
- 1Immunology Section, ICAR-Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Bareilly, UP, 243122, India. Electronic address: [email protected].
- 2Molecular Physiology Laboratory, Division of Avian Physiology and Reproduction, ICAR-Central Avian Research Institute, Bareilly, UP, 243122, India. Electronic address: [email protected].
- 3Immunology Section, ICAR-Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Bareilly, UP, 243122, India. Electronic address: [email protected].
- 4Molecular Physiology Laboratory, Division of Avian Physiology and Reproduction, ICAR-Central Avian Research Institute, Bareilly, UP, 243122, India. Electronic address: [email protected].
- 5Molecular Physiology Laboratory, Division of Avian Physiology and Reproduction, ICAR-Central Avian Research Institute, Bareilly, UP, 243122, India.
- 6Immunology Section, ICAR-Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Bareilly, UP, 243122, India. Electronic address: [email protected].
- 7Molecular Physiology Laboratory, Division of Avian Physiology and Reproduction, ICAR-Central Avian Research Institute, Bareilly, UP, 243122, India. Electronic address: [email protected].
Abstract
The present study investigated the expression profiles of six TLR genes (TLR2A, TLR3, TLR4, TLR5, TLR7 and TLR21) in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) following genotype II ND vaccination across fifteen genetically diverse chicken populations representing exotic, indigenous, fancy, synthetic and broiler parent lines. Relative gene expression was quantified by qPCR, and receptor expression data were integrated into five novel composite immune indices, namely the Viral Recognition Index (VRI), Bacterial Recognition Index (BRI), Immune Diversity Score (IDS), Shannon TLR Diversity Index (STDI), and Immune Breadth Index (IBI). Principal component analysis (PCA), hierarchical clustering and correlation analyses were further employed to characterize breed-specific innate immune architecture. Significant breed-dependent variation (P < 0.001) was observed for all six TLRs, demonstrating substantial genetic diversity in early pathogen recognition. Indigenous breeds, particularly Aseel Red and Kadaknath, exhibited broader activation of bacterial and viral recognition receptors, whereas White Frizzle showed the highest TLR2A expression and Frizzle displayed comparatively greater TLR5 and TLR7 expression among the fancy breeds. Synthetic populations exhibited intermediate but line-specific immune activation, while the broiler parent line (BCSFL) consistently demonstrated comparatively lower expression across most TLRs. PCA demonstrated pronounced breed-specific clustering of innate immune responses, with PC1 alone explaining 55.9% of the total variance, suggesting that coordinated TLR expression constituted the major source of immunological variation among chicken breeds. While correlation and hierarchical clustering analyses identified coordinated activation of bacterial (TLR2A, TLR4 and TLR5) and viral (TLR3, TLR7 and TLR21) sensing pathways in indigenous populations, whereas the Shannon TLR Diversity Index remained relatively conserved across most breeds. ND vaccine-induced TLR mediated immunity is characterized by functional specialization rather than hierarchical superiority, with distinct chicken genetic groups exhibiting differential investment in pathogen recognition pathways. The composite immune indices proposed herein provide a quantitative systems-level framework for evaluating innate immune architecture and represent promising hypothesis-generating biomarkers for comparative immunogenetics, precision breeding, and vaccine evaluation in poultry, warranting further validation through independent populations and virulent NDV challenge studies.
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BibTeX
@article{nikunjkumar2026comparative,
title = {{Comparative Toll-like receptor profiling reveals breed-specific innate immune architecture following Newcastle disease vaccination.}},
author = {Patel Nikunjkumar and Gautham Kolluri and Abinaya Kaliappan and Shiva Kumar Kurva and Aditi Vats and Saravanan Ramakrishnan and Jagbir Singh Tyagi},
journal = {Poultry science},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1016/j.psj.2026.107908},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42854492},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Comparative Toll-like receptor profiling reveals breed-specific innate immune architecture following Newcastle disease vaccination.
AU - Patel Nikunjkumar
AU - Gautham Kolluri
AU - Abinaya Kaliappan
AU - Shiva Kumar Kurva
AU - Aditi Vats
AU - Saravanan Ramakrishnan
AU - Jagbir Singh Tyagi
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/05
JO - Poultry science
DO - 10.1016/j.psj.2026.107908
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42854492
AB - The present study investigated the expression profiles of six TLR genes (TLR2A, TLR3, TLR4, TLR5, TLR7 and TLR21) in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) following genotype II ND vaccination across fifteen genetically diverse chicken populations representing exotic, indigenous, fancy, synthetic and broiler parent lines. Relative gene expression was quantified by qPCR, and receptor expression data were integrated into five novel composite immune indices, namely the Viral Recognition Index (VRI), Bacterial Recognition Index (BRI), Immune Diversity Score (IDS), Shannon TLR Diversity Index (STDI), and Immune Breadth Index (IBI). Principal component analysis (PCA), hierarchical clustering and correlation analyses were further employed to characterize breed-specific innate immune architecture. Significant breed-dependent variation (P < 0.001) was observed for all six TLRs, demonstrating substantial genetic diversity in early pathogen recognition. Indigenous breeds, particularly Aseel Red and Kadaknath, exhibited broader activation of bacterial and viral recognition receptors, whereas White Frizzle showed the highest TLR2A expression and Frizzle displayed comparatively greater TLR5 and TLR7 expression among the fancy breeds. Synthetic populations exhibited intermediate but line-specific immune activation, while the broiler parent line (BCSFL) consistently demonstrated comparatively lower expression across most TLRs. PCA demonstrated pronounced breed-specific clustering of innate immune responses, with PC1 alone explaining 55.9% of the total variance, suggesting that coordinated TLR expression constituted the major source of immunological variation among chicken breeds. While correlation and hierarchical clustering analyses identified coordinated activation of bacterial (TLR2A, TLR4 and TLR5) and viral (TLR3, TLR7 and TLR21) sensing pathways in indigenous populations, whereas the Shannon TLR Diversity Index remained relatively conserved across most breeds. ND vaccine-induced TLR mediated immunity is characterized by functional specialization rather than hierarchical superiority, with distinct chicken genetic groups exhibiting differential investment in pathogen recognition pathways. The composite immune indices proposed herein provide a quantitative systems-level framework for evaluating innate immune architecture and represent promising hypothesis-generating biomarkers for comparative immunogenetics, precision breeding, and vaccine evaluation in poultry, warranting further validation through independent populations and virulent NDV challenge studies.
SN - 0032-5791
SN - 1525-3171
ER -