Abstract
The aim of this brief review is to draw attention to a possible relationship between three unusual features of the chicken immune system. First, the bird’s B cells develop in a specialized organ with a follicular structure, the bursa of Fabricius. Secondly, the B-cell lineage, once it has been formed, is self-maintaining; that is, new B cells are not formed from immunoglobulin-negative (Ig−) precursors at any time after the bird hatches. Finally, the chicken seems to use a very small number of Ig variable-region genes to generate a large antibody repertoire. We will discuss in detail only the first two of these points, as chicken Ig genes are the subject of another chapter in this volume (Weill et al.). Our proposal, that there is a relationship between the number of Ig germ-line variable-region genes and the way in which B cells are generated in a given species, is based on recent articles dealing with chicken B-cell development and Ig gene structure (Pink et al. 1985a; Weill et al. 1986, this volume).
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Pink, J.R.L., Lassila, O. (1987). B-Cell Commitment and Diversification in the Bursa of Fabricius. In: Paige, C.J., Gisler, R.H. (eds) Differentiation of B Lymphocytes. Current Topics in Microbiology and Immunology, vol 135. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-71851-9_4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-71851-9_4
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