A Comparative Study of Respiratory Phagocytic Cell Activities in Layer Chicks

A comparative study of avian respiratory phagocytes (ARPs) was conducted in four different strains of commercial layer chicks. The birds were raised to 12-14 weeks of age and were used as source of ARPs. Respiratory phagocytic cells harvested 42 hours post-inoculation of 3% Sephadex G-50 into the abdominal air-sacs were assayed for their viability, substrate adherence potential and percentage of macrophages in ARPs. The mean percentage values of viable cells after Sephadex G-50 stimulation were higher in groups B and D compared to groups A and C. Group D showed the maximum while group A the lowest value of substrate adherence potential of ARPs. Group B produced the maximum percentage of macrophages in ARPs. The results of present study suggest that different genetic strains vary in their phagocytic cell characteristics.