B cell precursors in chick embryos surgically bursectomized at 72 h of incubation.
To determine the presence of precursor B cells in chick embryos surgically bursectomized at 72 h of incubation (E-Bx) we studied chick chimeras that were produced by establishing parabiotic connections between blood vessels of chorioallantoic membranes of normal and surgically bursectomized chick embryos. Using sex chromosomes and a B cell alloantigen (Bu-1a) as markers we showed that chick embryos bursectomized at 72 h of incubation contain B cell precursors capable of colonizing the bursa of Fabricius and developing into B lymphocytes. The repopulation capacity of 14-day-old embryonic spleen cells from E-Bx recipients was tested by transferring them into age-matched X-irradiated Bu-1-disparate embryos. The results show that B cell precursors are present in 14-day spleen of chick embryos bursectomized at 72 h of incubation. These precursors carry the Bu-1 B cell alloantigen, suggesting that commitment to the B cell lineage can take place in the absence of bursa.
Lassila
O
O
Basel Institute for Immunology, Switzerland.
Alanen
A
A
Vainio
O
O
Houssaint
E
E
Pink
J R
JR
Weber
W T
WT
D000367:Age Factors; D000818:Animals; D000944:Antigens, Differentiation, B-Lymphocyte / Q000032:analysis; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000166:cytology*; D002060:Bursa of Fabricius / Q000196:embryology*; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D002642:Chick Embryo; D002678:Chimera; D010227:Parabiosis; D013154:Spleen / Q000196:embryology* / Q000276:immunology
D000944:Antigens, Differentiation, B-Lymphocyte