Subtopic Deep Dive

Immune Response to Eimeria Infections
Research Guide

What is Immune Response to Eimeria Infections?

Immune response to Eimeria infections encompasses avian host defenses involving Th1/Th17 cytokines, CD4+ T cells, intraepithelial lymphocytes, and genetic resistance against coccidial parasites.

Research focuses on intestinal immune mechanisms in chickens, including cytokine profiles and lymphoid tissue responses to Eimeria species. Key studies document over 350 citations for foundational works like Lillehoj and Trout (1996) on gut-associated lymphoid tissues. Approximately 10 high-citation papers from 1996-2020 detail vaccine impacts and immunomodulation.

Curated Papers

Key Challenges

Why It Matters

Understanding immune responses guides selective breeding for coccidiosis-resistant poultry flocks, reducing economic losses estimated in Blake et al. (2020) with 597 citations. Lillehoj and Trout (1996, 356 citations) highlight impaired growth from Eimeria, informing probiotic interventions like Dalloul et al. (2003, 269 citations) enhancing mucosal immunity. Williams (2002, 340 citations) outlines vaccine pathways reducing anticoccidial drug reliance in broilers.

Key Research Challenges

Cytokine Regulation Variability

Th1/Th17 cytokine profiles vary across Eimeria species and chicken breeds, complicating uniform vaccine design. Rothwell et al. (2004, 317 citations) cloned chicken IL-10 showing regulatory roles in Eimeria maxima responses. Consistent profiling across infections remains unresolved.

Intraepithelial Lymphocyte Dynamics

IEL subpopulations shift during infection but protection mechanisms need clarification. Lillehoj and Trout (1996, 356 citations) describe IEL roles in intestinal responses to Eimeria. Linking specific IEL changes to resistance lacks genetic markers.

Immunomodulator Efficacy Testing

Probiotics and vaccines show variable field efficacy against multiple Eimeria strains. Dalloul et al. (2003, 269 citations) report Lactobacillus enhancing immunity to E. acervulina. Standardizing trials for broiler production challenges persist.

Essential Papers

Re-calculating the cost of coccidiosis in chickens

Damer P. Blake, Jolene Knox, Ben Dehaeck et al. · 2020 · Veterinary Research · 597 citations

The Biology of Avian Eimeria with an Emphasis on their Control by Vaccination

M. W. Shirley, Adrian L. Smith, Fiona M. Tomley · 2005 · Advances in Parasitology/Advances in parasitology · 393 citations

Avian gut-associated lymphoid tissues and intestinal immune responses to Eimeria parasites

Hyun S. Lillehoj, James M. Trout · 1996 · Clinical Microbiology Reviews · 356 citations

Coccidiosis, an intestinal infection caused by intracellular protozoan parasites belonging to several different species of Eimeria, seriously impairs the growth and feed utilization of livestock an...

Intestinal immune responses to coccidiosis

Cheol‐Heui Yun · 2000 · Developmental & Comparative Immunology · 347 citations

Anticoccidial vaccines for broiler chickens: Pathways to success

R. B. Williams · 2002 · Avian Pathology · 340 citations

The use of live vaccines, either attenuated or non-attenuated, for the control of coccidiosis due to Eimeria infections in broiler breeder or layer chickens is well established. Use in broilers, ho...

Cloning and Characterization of Chicken IL-10 and Its Role in the Immune Response to <i>Eimeria maxima</i>

Lisa Rothwell, John R. Young, Rima Zoorob et al. · 2004 · The Journal of Immunology · 317 citations

Abstract We isolated the full-length chicken IL-10 (chIL-10) cDNA from an expressed sequence tag library derived from RNA from cecal tonsils of Eimeria tenella-infected chickens. It encodes a 178-a...

The Impact of Fusarium Mycotoxins on Human and Animal Host Susceptibility to Infectious Diseases

Gunther Antonissen, An Martel, Frank Pasmans et al. · 2014 · Toxins · 308 citations

Contamination of food and feed with mycotoxins is a worldwide problem. At present, acute mycotoxicosis caused by high doses is rare in humans and animals. Ingestion of low to moderate amounts of Fu...

Reading Guide

Foundational Papers

Start with Lillehoj and Trout (1996, 356 citations) for gut lymphoid basics, then Shirley et al. (2005, 393 citations) for Eimeria biology and vaccines, followed by Rothwell et al. (2004, 317 citations) for cytokine cloning.

Recent Advances

Study Blake et al. (2020, 597 citations) on economic costs linking to immunity needs, and Dalloul et al. (2003, 269 citations) for probiotic enhancements.

Core Methods

Core techniques: IEL isolation and cytometry (Lillehoj, 1996), IL-10 cDNA cloning/characterization (Rothwell, 2004), live vaccine attenuation trials (Williams, 2002).

How PapersFlow Helps You Research Immune Response to Eimeria Infections

Discover & Search

Research Agent uses searchPapers and citationGraph to map high-citation works like Lillehoj and Trout (1996, 356 citations) on gut immunity, then findSimilarPapers reveals related cytokine studies. exaSearch uncovers niche immunomodulator trials beyond OpenAlex indexes.

Analyze & Verify

Analysis Agent applies readPaperContent to extract IEL data from Lillehoj and Trout (1996), verifies cytokine claims via verifyResponse (CoVe), and runs PythonAnalysis for statistical comparison of IL-10 levels in Rothwell et al. (2004). GRADE grading scores evidence strength for Th1/Th17 profiles across Eimeria species.

Synthesize & Write

Synthesis Agent detects gaps in genetic resistance post-vaccination via contradiction flagging, while Writing Agent uses latexEditText, latexSyncCitations for immunology reviews, and latexCompile for broiler immunity manuscripts. exportMermaid visualizes cytokine network diagrams from Shirley et al. (2005).

Use Cases

"Compare IL-10 expression levels across Eimeria tenella and maxima infections in chickens"

Research Agent → searchPapers → Analysis Agent → runPythonAnalysis (pandas/matplotlib plots cytokine data from Rothwell et al. 2004) → researcher gets quantified fold-change graphs and stats.

"Draft LaTeX review on avian IEL responses to coccidiosis"

Synthesis Agent → gap detection → Writing Agent → latexEditText + latexSyncCitations (Lillehoj 1996, Williams 2002) + latexCompile → researcher gets compiled PDF with figures.

"Find code for modeling Eimeria immune dynamics"

Research Agent → paperExtractUrls → Code Discovery → paperFindGithubRepo → githubRepoInspect → researcher gets simulation scripts linked to cytokine models.

Automated Workflows

Deep Research workflow scans 50+ papers via citationGraph from Lillehoj (1996), producing structured reports on Th1 responses. DeepScan's 7-step chain with CoVe verifies probiotic efficacy from Dalloul (2003). Theorizer generates hypotheses on IL-10 genetic resistance from Rothwell (2004) literature synthesis.

Try Doxa for Immune Response to Eimeria Infections Research

Frequently Asked Questions

What defines immune response to Eimeria infections?

Avian defenses feature Th1/Th17 cytokines, CD4+ T cells, and intraepithelial lymphocytes against intestinal Eimeria parasites (Lillehoj and Trout, 1996).

What are key methods in this research?

Methods include cDNA cloning for cytokines (Rothwell et al., 2004), IEL subpopulation flow cytometry (Dalloul et al., 2003), and live attenuated vaccines (Williams, 2002).

What are seminal papers?

Lillehoj and Trout (1996, 356 citations) on gut immunity; Shirley et al. (2005, 393 citations) on Eimeria biology; Rothwell et al. (2004, 317 citations) on chicken IL-10.

What open problems exist?

Challenges include strain-specific vaccine efficacy, genetic markers for IEL resistance, and mycotoxin modulation of immunity (Antonissen et al., 2014).