Induction of apoptosis in the bursa of Fabricius by vaccination against Gumboro disease

Infectious bursal disease is a severe acute viral disease of young chickens, affecting mainly the B-lymphocytes in the bursa of Fabricius, leading to severe immunosuppression as a result of the death of lymphoid cells. In the bursa infected with infectious bursal disease virus, viral replication is associated with apoptosis of lymphoid cells, inflammatory change and atrophy. Vaccination has appeared to be a crucial factor for control, with live attenuated vaccines being the most used. However, the apoptotic effect of these vaccines on the bursa has not been tested. We determined the apoptotic effect caused by the most used vaccines in local production on the bursa of Fabricius cells and the correlation with histological changes. In this study, it was demonstrated that apoptosis levels in the vaccinated groups were higher than those observed in the non-vaccinated birds leading to the conclusion that the action of the live virus vaccine strains modifies the boundary of the bursa and shapes processes of cell death by apoptosis. In contrast to other studies, the vaccine strains used did not show the phenomenon of bursal atrophy during the experimental period.