Adoptive transfer of delayed wattle reactivity in chickens with a dialyzable leukocyte extract containing transfer...

Delayed wattle reactions (DWR) to tuberculin, diphtheria toxoid (DT), and keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH) were transferred to chickens with dialyzable leukocyte extracts (DLE) prepared from splenic leukocytes of chickens sensitized and reactive by DWR to the tuberculin, DT, or KLH. A DLE prepared from chickens unsensitized and unreactive to tuberculin by DWR failed to transfer DWR to tuberculin in recipients. Only chickens injected with DLE from tuberculin sensitized and reactive chickens exhibited significant (P less than .01) DWR to tuberculin. Chickens that received DLE prepared from DT sensitized and reactive chickens exhibited significant (P less than .01) DWR to DT but not to KLH. Further, DWR to both DT and KLH was transferred with DLE prepared from chickens sensitized to both antigens. Adoptive transfer of DWR to KLH in comparison to DT was more successful. Finally, the serial transfer of DWR to KLH (P less than .05) but not to DT (P greater than .05) was accomplished using DLE prepared from chickens that previously were recipients of DLE prepared from chickens sensitized to KLH and DT. Results indicate that DLE prepared from chickens contain transfer factor (TF) responsible for adoptive transfer of DWR to tuberculin, DT, and KLH.