title: A chicken sex-limited protein that crossreacts with the fourth component of complement.
abstract: Plasma samples from more than 300 inbred chickens were screened by using an immunofixation technique with antibody against the fourth component of complement (C4) from humans. Precipitation patterns of plasma from adult male and sexually immature birds, either male or female, were identical. Plasma from egg-laying hens demonstrated a distinctly different precipitation pattern compared with plasma of other birds, with one additional band appearing 14 to 9 days before production of the first egg. The banding pattern could not be induced in males by progesterone injection and remained unchanged in molted female birds.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001798:Blood Proteins / Q000276:immunology*; D002645:Chickens / Q000276:immunology*; D003181:Complement C4 / Q000276:immunology*; D005260:Female; D008297:Male
chemical_list: D001798:Blood Proteins; C018386:C4a protein, mouse; D003181:Complement C4