TY  - JOUR
AU  - Li, Xueqing
AU  - Teng, Tianqi
AU  - Chen, Yingyi
AU  - Li, Zhuohang
AU  - Huang, Jiangwu
AU  - Zhang, Tao
AU  - Ogali, Irene
AU  - Dai, Manman
PY  - 2026
TI  - Unveiling the dominant peptides recognized by chicken TCRγδ+CD8α+ T cells against avian leukosis virus subgroup J (ALV-J) infection in B21 haplotype chickens
JO  - Journal of Integrative Agriculture (JIA)
SN  - 2095-3119
SP  - 3990
EP  - 4001
VL  - 25
IS  - 10
AB  - TCRγδ T cells are a major lymphocyte population in chickens, but their response to ALV-J and recognized antigens remains poorly understood. Here, we report an increase in the proportion and activation state of TCRγδ+CD8α+ T cells in vivo and in vitro cultured T cells from 2 chicken lines (MHC homozygous H-B21 lines and outbred G-WL line), with the earlier and stronger proliferative response observed in the H-B21 chickens. Activated TCRγδ+CD8α+ T cells exhibited ‘cytolytic’ potential, as detected by transcription levels of cytotoxic genes using quantitative reverse transcription PCR (qRT-PCR), and IFN-γ protein levels using ELISPOT and intracellular cytokine staining (ICS) assays, with a more significant response in the H-B21 chickens. Furthermore, the viral structural proteins Gag and Pol were identified as major target proteins recognized by chicken TCRγδ+CD8α+ T cells. Further ELISPOT and ICS analyses mapped the key peptides to Gag187–215 and Pol417–445 recognized by chicken TCRγδ+CD8α+ T cells against ALV-J infection. Collectively, these findings confirm for the first time that TCRγδ+CD8α+ T cells can recognize viral antigens and reveal the dominant peptides on ALV-J, enhancing our understanding of anti-ALV-J T cell responses and advancing vaccine design strategies against ALV-J.
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jia.2026.07.010
DO  - 10.1016/j.jia.2026.07.010