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Updated: Aug 23, 2026
An Ex Vivo Chicken Primary Bursal-cell Culture Model to Study Infectious Bursal Disease Virus Pathogenesis
Published on: October 4, 2018
Ovoinhibitor in the chicken bursa of Fabricius: identification, isolation, and localization
Randle W Moore1, Billy M Hargis, Tom E Porter
1USDA ARS SouthEast Poultry Research Laboratory, Athens, GA 30605, USA. rmoore@seprl.usda.gov
Insights
Chicken bursa of Fabricius expresses ovoinhibitor. Researchers identified ovoinhibitor in bursal secretory dendritic-like cells, suggesting a new source of this protein.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Molecular Biology
- Avian Biology
Background:
- The bursa of Fabricius is crucial for avian immune development.
- The specific cellular sources and functions of certain bursal proteins remain unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify the cellular source and molecular identity of a protein recognized by a monoclonal antibody in the chicken bursa of Fabricius.
- To investigate the expression of ovoinhibitor in the chicken bursa.
Main Methods:
- Monoclonal antibody production and characterization.
- Immunopurification and protein sequencing of a 56 kDa bursal protein.
- Peptide digestion and mass spectrometry.
- Gene-specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and reverse transcription (RT-PCR) for ovoinhibitor mRNA detection.
Main Results:
- A monoclonal antibody specifically bound to a cell type in the cortico-medullary border of the bursa, resembling bursal secretory dendritic-like cells.
- The antibody immunopurified a 56 kDa protein, which was identified as chicken ovoinhibitor through peptide sequencing.
- RT-PCR confirmed the presence of ovoinhibitor mRNA in chicken bursae.
Conclusions:
- Chicken ovoinhibitor is expressed in the bursa of Fabricius.
- Bursal secretory dendritic-like cells are a potential novel source of ovoinhibitor.
- This finding contributes to understanding the molecular functions within the bursa of Fabricius.
Abstract:
A monoclonal antibody (Mab) developed against a partially purified bursal protein extract was found to bind specifically to a single cell type in the cortico-medullary border region of the chicken bursa of Fabricius. These cells were microscopically similar to the bursal secretory dendritic-like cells. A product with an apparent molecular weight of approximately 56 kDa on SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis was immunopurified from bursal extracts by utilizing this Mab. This product was subjected to peptide digestion and protein sequencing. The two resulting sequences perfectly matched the known sequence of chicken ovoinhibitor. Gene-specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) primers were designed for the ovoinhibitor, RNA was purified from chicken bursae, and reverse transcription/PCR was performed. Two amplicons with the expected size for ovoinhibitor mRNA were obtained. These data suggest that the gene for ovoinhibitor is expressed in the bursa of Fabricius, and that the bursal secretory dendritic-like cells may be a previously unreported source of ovoinhibitor.
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