title: Ontogeny of immunoglobulin expression in the brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula).
abstract: Marsupials, unlike eutherians, are born immunologically immature, without circulating lymphocytes or organised lymphoid tissue. Their immune response develops while they are in the pouch not in the uterus. In this study, the onset time of immunoglobulin expression in Trichosurus vulpecula pouch young was estimated by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. As in eutherian species, IgM heavy chain transcripts were detected first, at day 10 post partum. The first switched transcript, detected at day 18, was Calpha. Cgamma and Cvarepsilon transcripts were not present at day 72, but were seen at day 103, approximately corresponding to the time of release of the teat and exposure to new antigens, as well as the time of the loss of capacity to absorb maternal Igs through the gut.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, NSW 2109, Australia.
authors.forename: Katherine
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Belov
authors.forename: Mai-Anh T
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Nguyen
authors.forename: Kyall R
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Zenger
authors.forename: Desmond W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Cooper
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D007127:Immunoglobulin Constant Regions / Q000235:genetics; D007143:Immunoglobulin Heavy Chains / Q000235:genetics*; D007075:Immunoglobulin M / Q000235:genetics; D007139:Immunoglobulin epsilon-Chains / Q000235:genetics; D007142:Immunoglobulin gamma-Chains / Q000235:genetics; D007148:Immunoglobulin mu-Chains / Q000235:genetics; D009893:Opossums / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D007127:Immunoglobulin Constant Regions; D007143:Immunoglobulin Heavy Chains; D007075:Immunoglobulin M; D007139:Immunoglobulin epsilon-Chains; D007142:Immunoglobulin gamma-Chains; D007148:Immunoglobulin mu-Chains