Ghrelin attenuates infectious bursal disease virus–induced early inflammatory response and bursal injury in chicken

Studies demonstrated that chicken ghrelin mRNA was expressed in immune organs of chicken. However, it was not known for its functions in chicken immune system. This study aimed to investigate the effects of ghrelin on infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV)-induced acute inflammatory and bursal injury. Chickens were divided into 4 groups. One group was used as control (“C”). The other three groups incubated with IBDV on the 19th d, of which 2 were injected intraperitoneally with 0.5 nmol (“LG”) or 1.0 nmol (“HG”) ghrelin/100g body weight from 18th to 22nd d, respectively, and one was injected intraperitoneally with PBS (“I”). Results showed that cytokines including interleukin (IL)-6, IL-1β, and IL-8 mRNA expression in I group were upregulated significantly after chickens infected with IBDV from 1 d post-infection (dpi) to 3 dpi (P