Cellular immune response of infectious bursal disease and Newcastle disease vaccinations in broilers exposed to monochromatic lights

Abstract

To investigate the effects of various monochromatic lights on T lymphocytes proliferation and serum nitric oxide production in chicken vaccinated with infectious bursal disease and newcastle disease vaccines, a total of 60 one-day-old broilers were exposed to red, green, blue, white and yellow light by using a light-emitting diode system for 6 weeks. The results indicated that the proliferation of peripheral blood T lymphocytes in the chickens exposed to white and green lights significantly increased when compared with other groups at 37 days of age (P < 0.05). In the early days, the results were different. The enhancement of T lymphocytes proliferation with green and yellow lights occurred at 18 days, whereas the enhancement with green light was less than other lights at 30 days. Red light promoted NO (nitrix oxide) production at maximum level in the chickens, while green light suppressed it at minimum level after 37 days. These results suggested that green and white lights had strong effects on immunity, especially at the last days of rearing.

Key words: Monochromatic lights, vaccination, nitric oxide, broiler chicken.