Copper chitosan nanocomposite as antiviral and immune-modulating effect in broiler experimentally infected with chicken anemia virus

In the last few years, inorganic nanosystems, or nanometals, were of great interest to conventional therapy. In this study, Copper Chitosan Nanocomposite (CuCNP) was monitored for its antiviral, immune-stimulant, and lowering agent of Cu residue roles by using Chicken Anemia Virus (CAV) as a model. CuCNP is a metallic oxide nanocomposite with specific properties, such as sphere shape, no aggregation, and narrow size distribution 24.71±1.68 nm PdI: 0.691±0.02. We grouped 100 broiler chicks into four groups. Group 1 served as a regular negative control group. In drinking water, G2 was treated with CuCNP 1 mg/ml for five days. The G3 was infected with 0.2 ml I/M of CAV strain (MN339532) at one day old with CuCNP 1 mg/ml in drinking water for five days. G4 virus-positive control group with viral 3.987×106 virus copies/ml. Different serum and organ tissue homogenate samples were collected at different time intervals to measure residues, CAV viral concentration in organs, and serum to monitor cellular and humoral immunity. The excellent results of CuCNP are improving the innate immune response phagocytic activity, lysozyme, and NO, also cytokine levels mRNA of IFN-γ, IL-6, and IL-10 in G2 and G3 and elevating CAV antibody titers with decreases the CAV viral load in organs with a noticeable decrease of its residues in G2 and G3. The current study provides evidence of the immunostimulatory effect of CuCNP on CAV infection. It clarifies a constant reduction of CuCNP residues in broilers muscle and liver tissues, keeping its levels below Cu maximum residual limits (MRLs).