Suppression of NK activity of spleen cells by chicken fetal antigen present on Marek's disease lymphoblastoid cell line cells

✍ Scribed by Kazuhiko Ohashi; Takeshi Mikami; Hiroshi Kodama; Hisao Izawa

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1987
• Tongue: French
• Weight: 570 KB
• Volume: 40
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0020-7136
• DOI: 10.1002/ijc.2910400316

✦ Synopsis

Chicken fetal antigen (CFA) expressed on the cell surface of Marek's disease (MD) lymphoblastoid cell line (MDCC-MSB I) cells was purified by affinity chromatography using a monoclonal antibody (2H3). A 4-hr 5'Cr release assay was performed using spleen cells as effector cells to investigate the role of the CFA in the immune response of chickens, especially in relation to natural killer (NK) activity. Spleen cells of specific-pathogen-free (SPF) chickens showed reduced NK activity in the presence of CFA in vitro, as did those cells treated with MSBl soluble antigen. N K activity of spleen cells from chickens treated with CFA was also suppressed when compared to the cells from untreated or ovalbumin-treated chickens. In addition, MSBl clo. 18 transplantable tumors grew progressively in some of the 14-day-old chickens treated with CFA, whereas the tumors regressed in age-matched chickens with or without treatment by ovalbumin.

Marek's disease (MD) is a herpes-virus induced, naturally occurring malignant disease of chickens, characterized by the development of lymphomas in a variety of visceral organs or in skin. Although both humoral and cellular immune systems are involved in immunity to MD, the cellular immune mechanisms mediated by T cells, macrophages and natural killer (NK) cells appear to be important against MD tumor formation