MiR-20a is an important regulator of immune function. To further explore the expression and functional characteristics of miR-20a in different immune responses, the spatiotemporal expression characteristics of miR-20a-5p in the immunized chicken models induced by three poultry vaccines (infectious bursal disease attenuated vaccine, Newcastle disease attenuated vaccine and avian influenza inactivated vaccine) were analyzed. The results showed that the expression levels of serum circulating

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... a-5p were significantly different in different stage of the three immune responses. The expression patterns of tissue miR-20a-5p at two time points (5dpi and 21dpi) were similar between ND group and H9 group, but different from IBD group, and the spleen, thymus and bursa of Fabricius were the possible key tissues for miR-20a-5p playing immune regulatory functions in different immune responses. This study showed that miR-20a-5p was a multifunctional key factor involved in different immune responses, and provided a reference for further exploring the immune regulation function and potential application of miR-20a.