title: Hematopoietic prostaglandin D2 synthase in the chicken Harderian gland.
abstract: The Harderian gland (HG), a sero-mucous secreting organ in the eye orbit, has long been recognized as immunologically important in chickens. During experimentation to characterize immune components of the gland, proteomics analysis revealed the presence of hematopoietic prostaglandin D synthase (H-PGDS). Extraction of total RNA followed by RT-PCR produced cDNA of 597 base pairs. DNA sequencing revealed nucleic acid and predicted amino acid sequences that were 99% aligned with the one published sequence for chicken H-PGDS of the spleen. Alignment with murine, rat, and human H-PGDS were 69, 69, and 66%, respectively. Ocular vaccination of chickens with a Newcastle Disease/Infectious Bronchitis vaccine (Mass.-Ark. Strain) induced an increase in H-PGDS expression determined by real-time PCR. Furthermore, immunohistochemistry of frozen HG sections showed positive stained cells for both H-PGDS and mast cell tryptase in the sub-epithelial cell layers of the HG ducts. Based on the potent vasoactive role of PGD(2), it appears that the chicken HG is a site of active mucosal immunity partially mediated by PGD(2) synthesized by H-PGDS in the gland.
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, Clemson University, 132 P&A Building, Clemson, SC 29634, USA. trscott@clemson.edu
authors.forename: T R
authors.initials: TR
authors.lastname: Scott
authors.forename: A R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Messersmith
authors.forename: W J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: McCrary
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Herlong
authors.forename: S C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Burgess
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D002645:Chickens; D018352:Coronavirus Infections / Q000276:immunology; D015971:Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic; D006243:Harderian Gland / Q000166:cytology / Q000201:enzymology*; D019746:Intramolecular Oxidoreductases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D054834:Lipocalins; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009521:Newcastle Disease / Q000276:immunology; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D014765:Viral Vaccines / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D054834:Lipocalins; D014765:Viral Vaccines; D019746:Intramolecular Oxidoreductases; C022466:prostaglandin R2 D-isomerase