Vaccine-induced host responses against very virulent Marek's disease virus infection in the lungs of chickens

The aim of this study was to investigate the kinetics of virus replication and cellular responses in the lungs following infection with Marek's disease virus (MDV) and/or vaccination with herpesvirus of turkey (HVT) via the respiratory route. Chickens vaccinated with HVT and challenged with MDV had a higher accumulation of MDV and HVT genomes in the lungs compared to the chickens that received HVT or MDV alone. This increase in virus load was associated with augmented expression of interferon (IFN)-γ and interleukin (IL)-10, and increased T cell infiltration. These findings shed more light on the immunological events that occur in the lungs after vaccination or infection with MDV.