Figure 3
mRNA expression patterns of pro-inflammatory cytokines in monocytes/macrophages and B cell proliferation/survival-related genes in chicken splenocytes treated with inactivated H9N2 andB. subtilisspores. Total splenocytes and monocytes/macrophages were isolated from 3-week-old chickens (N = 5) and stimulated with inactivated H9N2 and/or B. subtilis spores for 3 h. A The expression patterns of the IL-1 and IL-6 genes, as pro-inflammatory cytokines, in monocytes/macrophages. B The mRNA expression levels of the B cell proliferation-related genes BAFF, BAFF-R, TACI, CD40, and CD40L in total splenocytes. C The expression patterns of the IL-4 and IL-15 genes in total splenocytes by qRT-PCR. To determine the significance, one-way ANOVA followed by a Friedman test corrected by Dunn’s multiple comparison test was performed. Data are expressed as the mean values ± SDs. Different letters on each group denote a significant difference at P ≤ 0.05.