Major histocompatibility complex class II (Ia-like) antigens on chicken embryo fibroblasts: effect of transformation...

In this study, three monomorphic monoclonal antibodies to chicken MHC class II molecules (B-L) were tested for reactivity in normal and RSV-transformed embryo fibroblasts. The immunocytochemical staining, the cell-bound ELISA assay, and the immunoprecipitation analysis showed that all three antibodies reacted with the B-L (Ia-like) molecules on normal cells of different genotypes. Conversely, the expression of these antigens was not detected in fibroblasts cultured from feather follicles of adult birds. The level of expression of B-L molecules as well as the class II specific RNA increased consistently after transformation of the cells by the SR-RSV and infection with the avian leukosis virus RAV-1. Analysis of genomic DNA by the Southern blot technique, performed after digestion with several restriction endonucleases, showed that the restriction pattern of B-L genes was not altered in cells transformed by Rous sarcoma virus.