{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,10]],"date-time":"2025-10-10T01:31:25Z","timestamp":1760059885926,"version":"build-2065373602"},"reference-count":46,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"7","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,18]],"date-time":"2025-07-18T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1752796800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Canadian Poultry Research Council"},{"name":"Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council"},{"name":"Ontario Research Fund\u2014Research Excellence Fund"},{"name":"Ontario Agri-Food Innovation Alliance"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Viruses"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Marek\u2019s Disease Virus (MDV) is a highly contagious pathogen in chickens, resulting in immunosuppression and T-cell lymphomas. Understanding the role of host cytokines in MDV pathogenesis is crucial for developing effective interventions. This study investigated the in vivo effects of overexpressing avian interleukin-17 (IL-17) in Marek\u2019s disease virus infection model and its impact on T-cell populations. We utilized a recombinant pCDNA3.1 plasmid that expresses IL-17 at days 4 and 10 post-MDV infection in chickens. Our findings demonstrate that IL-17 overexpression significantly enhanced MDV replication. However, treatment with the plasmid expressing IL-17 led to a reduction in MD disease severity. Additionally, IL-17 treatment markedly altered the frequency of CD4+ and CD8\u03b1+ \u03b1\u03b2 T-cells. Specifically, at 21-dpi, there was an increase in CD3+ CD8\u03b1+ \u03b1\u03b2 T cells and a decrease in CD3+ CD4+ \u03b1\u03b2 T-cells within the spleen of chickens treated with the plasmid expressing IL-17. These modulatory effects suggest a possible mechanism by which IL-17 facilitates immune system cell activation and enhances viral persistence. This study underscores the pivotal role of IL-17 in MDV infection dynamics and offers.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/v17071009","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,18]],"date-time":"2025-07-18T10:10:38Z","timestamp":1752833438000},"page":"1009","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Overexpression of Interleukin-17 Modulates Responses to Marek\u2019s Disease Virus Infection and Tumor Formation in Chickens"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"17","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8797-5753","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Nitish","family":"Boodhoo","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pathobiology, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Katherine","family":"Blake","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pathobiology, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0001-8507-8856","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Fatemeh","family":"Fazel","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pathobiology, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5034-5179","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Janan","family":"Shoja Doost","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pathobiology, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Shayan","family":"Sharif","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pathobiology, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,18]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"479","DOI":"10.1038\/nri2800","article-title":"Innate IL-17-producing cells: The sentinels of the immune system","volume":"10","author":"Cua","year":"2010","journal-title":"Nat. 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