title: Exclusion of polymeric immunoglobulins and selective immunoglobulin Y transport that recognizes its Fc region in avian ovarian follicles.
abstract: In avian species, blood immunoglobulin (Ig) Y, the equivalent to mammalian IgG, is selectively incorporated into ovarian follicles, but other classes, IgA and IgM, are much less abundant in the follicles. Several mammalian Igs, including IgG and IgA, are also incorporated into ovarian follicles when administered to birds. To clarify the Ig structure required for incorporation into ovarian follicles, Ig uptakes were determined after the intravenous injection of chicken and human Igs. Three chicken Igs (cIgY, cIgA and cIgM) and two human IgAs (monomeric hIgA and polymeric hIgA) were labeled with digoxigenin, and their uptakes into quail (Coturnix japonica) egg yolks were determined by ELISA and SDS-PAGE. The uptake of cIgY was the highest among the three cIgs (22% of injected cIgY was recovered from egg yolks). Chicken IgA was efficiently incorporated into egg yolk when it formed a monomeric state. Pentameric IgM was untransportable into egg yolk. We also found that the uptake of monomeric hIgA was much more efficient than that of polymeric hIgA. These results suggest that the retention of the monomeric form contributes to the efficient transport of Igs into ovarian follicles. On the other hand, Ig uptakes among monomeric Igs nevertheless differed; for example, a time-course analysis showed that the rate of monomeric cIgY uptake was approximately eight times faster than that of monomeric hIgA. The injection of cIgY fragments Fc, Fab and F(ab')(2) resulted in the largest uptake of Fc fragment, with the same level as that of cIgY. These results suggest the presence of a selective IgY transport system that recognizes its Fc region in avian ovarian follicles.
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Molecular Biosciences, Nagoya University, Nagoya 464-8601, Japan.
authors.forename: Kohji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kitaguchi
authors.forename: Kenichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Osada
authors.forename: Fumihiko
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Horio
authors.forename: Atsushi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Murai
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001692:Biological Transport; D015153:Blotting, Western / Q000662:veterinary; D003370:Coturnix / Q000276:immunology*; D004530:Egg Yolk / Q000276:immunology; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / Q000662:veterinary; D005260:Female; D007141:Immunoglobulin Fc Fragments / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism*; D007132:Immunoglobulin Isotypes / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D007136:Immunoglobulins / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism*; D008970:Molecular Weight; D006080:Ovarian Follicle / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: C016512:IgY; D007141:Immunoglobulin Fc Fragments; D007132:Immunoglobulin Isotypes; D007136:Immunoglobulins