ABSTRACT
Influenza virus produces cell death in animals and human. Cell death can be caused by either necrosis or apoptosis. We investigated the types of cell death that occur in chickens infected with avian influenza virus [A/chicken/Iran/772/2000[H9N2]. In an experimental study, 60 SPF chickens aged 3 weeks old were assigned to two groups. The first group was infected with 10[7-5] EID50 of the virus intravenously and the second group was treated with saline normal. 72 hours later, renal tissues were collected and fixed in 10% formalin solution. The prepared microscopic sections with the thickness of 5-6 micron were stained using TUNEL method. There was a significant difference in apoptotic cells of renal tubular tissue between the infected group and controls [p<0.005]. We demonstrated that A/chicken/Iran/772/2000 [H9N2] is able to induce apoptosis in renal tubular cells