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Bu‐1 antigen expression as a marker for B cell precursors in chicken embryos
Author(s) -
Houssaint Elisabeth,
Lassila Olli,
Vainio Olli
Publication year - 1989
Publication title -
european journal of immunology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.272
H-Index - 201
eISSN - 1521-4141
pISSN - 0014-2980
DOI - 10.1002/eji.1830190204
Subject(s) - biology , spleen , embryonic stem cell , bone marrow , antigen , microbiology and biotechnology , population , b cell , macrophage , precursor cell , immunology , cell , antibody , in vitro , genetics , medicine , environmental health , gene
Abstract Genetically polymorphic cell surface antigen, Bu‐1, is expressed on B cells as well as on a subset of macrophages. Bu‐1 cells are also present in embryonic spleen and bone marrow, and these could represent prebursal precursors for B cells and Bu‐1 macrophages. To test the repopulation capacity of these cells we sorted 14‐day embryonic spleen cells from Bu‐1a‐homozygous donors into Bu‐la and Bu‐la ‐ fractions and transferred them into age‐matched irradiated Bu‐1b‐homozygous recipients. Four to six weeks after hatching, the recipients were analyzed for Bu‐1 chimerism. The results demonstrate that B cell precursors are exclusively present in the Bu‐1 population of 14‐day embryonic spleen, whereas the Bu‐1 macrophage subpopulation can be repopulated by either the Bu‐1 or the Bu‐1 ‐ fraction of these embryonic cells. Bone marrow cells from young chickens could also repopulate the Bu‐1 macrophage subset but not the B cell compartment, thus confirming previous data that postnatal bone marrow does not contain B cell precursors. These results demonstrate that all B cell precursors in the 14‐day embryonic spleen carry the Bu‐1 antigen, and suggest that there is no lineage relationship between the Bu‐1 B cells and macrophages.