通过对营养和免疫应答之间相互作用的了解,营养学家和生产商就能够制定出饲喂策略,在获得最高生产力和动物福利的同时,最大程度地减少传染病的发生。营养素可通过多种机制影响免疫力,包括:作为免疫系统的底物;调节白细胞的信号传递;影响激素环境;影响肠动力学以及为病原体提供关键的营养成分。在哺乳动物中,铁被认为是体液中大多数致病微生物的“第一限制性”营养素,因为它可与转铁蛋白和乳铁蛋白紧密螯合。家禽没有与哺乳动物中功能相当的乳铁蛋白,但是抗生物素蛋白(avidin)似乎在防止病原体获得营养素方面起着类似的作用。抗生物素蛋白可与生物素结合,这使得生物素成为一些家禽病原体生长中的第一限制性营养素。 By understanding the interplay between nutrition and immune response, nutritionists and manufacturers can develop feeding strategies that minimize the occurrence of infectious diseases while maximizing productivity and animal welfare. Nutrients can affect immunity through a variety of mechanisms, including: acting as a substrate for the immune system; regulating leukocyte signaling; affecting the hormone environment; affecting gut dynamics and providing key nutrients to pathogens. In mammals, iron is considered the “first limiting” nutrient for most pathogenic microorganisms in body fluids because of its close chelation with transferrin and lactoferrin. Poultry do not have lactoferrin functionally equivalent in mammals, but avidin appears to play a similar role in preventing pathogens from gaining nutrients. Avidin binds to biotin, making biotin the first limiting nutrient in the growth of some poultry pathogens.