Evidence for Surface Antigen(s) Specific for a Subpopulation of Peripheral B and T Lymphocytes in the Chicken

Abstract

Previous work in this laboratory was dedicated to the serological classification of chicken lymphoid cells by means of specific heteroantisera. The original purpose of those attempts was to make use of such antibodies for the elucidation of the pathogenetic mechanisms in certain autoimmune phenomena, viz. the spontaneously occurring autoimmune thyroiditis in chickens of the Obese strain (1). Taking advantage of the clearcut anatomical separation of the bursa and thymus system in the chicken, antisera against bursa (ABS) and thymus cells (ATS) had been raised in turkeys, which — after proper absorptions — were shown to be strictly specific for the respective cell type (2). These reagents turned out to be perfectly suited for both the in vitro delineation of B and T cells in various lymphoid organs and the peripheral blood of chickens (3), as well as for the specific in vivo suppression of B and T cell functions most probably due to the ability of avian sera to fix chicken complement (4). In addition, these antisera have been successfully used for the analysis of the expression of antigenic surface determinants during the ontogeny of the lymphoid system (5).