Colon Histology and the Presence of CD45- MHC Class II- CD83+ Follicular Dendritic Cells in Colon Muscle Coat of Chickens

This study aimed to investigate the dendritic cell (DC) composition of the colon in chickens, examining the expressions of CD83, CD45, and MHC II molecules alongside the histological development of the tissue. Thirty Ross 308 broiler chicks were utilized, with three chicks sampled on days 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11, 14, and 15 during the first two weeks. Crossmon's triple stain and Gordon and Sweet's silver impregnation technique were employed to determine the overall structure of the colon. CD45 and CD83 were assessed in frozen sections, while MHC II was examined in paraffin sections using the streptavidin-biotin complex method. The study observed that the histological organization of the colon wall persisted for two weeks. To the best of our knowledge, for the first time, this research revealed the presence of a special group of dendritic cells in a particular area of the colon's muscle tissue from hatching. These CD83-positive DCs, expressing neither CD45 nor MHC II, were identified as specialized typed follicular dendritic cells (FDCs) located in the connective tissue of the muscle layer.