Frequency of chicken CD4+ and CD8+ cells. Genetic control and effect of Rous sarcoma virus infection

In chickens from congenic inbred lines CB and CC that differ only in the major histocompatibility complex (MHC), we observed significantly different percentages of CD4+ and CD8+ cells in peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) and spleen. Positive cells were detected by indirect immunofluorescence test as analysed by flow cytometry. In both PBL and spleen cell suspensions, the number of CD4+ cells was significantly higher in CB than in CC chickens, whereas in CC birds there was a higher percentage of CD8+ cells than in CB. These statistically significant differences were under the MHC control. We found no statistically significant influence of regressions or progression of Rous sarcoma virus-induced tumours on the percentage of peripheral T cells and on the interleukin-2 production in vitro.