Transcription profiling of chickens infected with Eimeria maxima or mock infected and then infected with E. maxima, E. acervulina or mock infected

Eimeria are obligate intracellular protozoan parasites which can affect chickens. After exposure to Eimeria chickens establish (partial) protective immunity to the homologues strain. In this paper we investigate the process responsible for Eimeria protection. In order to find host reactions specificly involved in protection to homologous re-infection we investigated the host reactions after primary infection and a homologous or heterologous secondary infection. Broilers were mock infected or infected with E.maxima (Max) at one week of age. Two weeks later broilers were mock infected, infected with E.maxima or E.acervulina. Oocyst output, T-cell population and cytokine mRNA expression profiles and Eimeria DNA profiles were measured 2, 4 and 7 days pi. Specific regulation of gene expression profiles was monitored by a whole genome oligo-array containing 20.673 oligoﾴs at 8 and 24 hours pi.