Abstract
We have identified differences in gene expression in macrophages grown from the bone marrow of male and female chickens in recombinant chicken M-CSF (CSF1). Cells were profiled with or without treatment with bacterial LPS for 24 h. Approximately 600 transcripts were induced by prolonged LPS stimulation to an equal extent in the male and female macrophages. Many transcripts encoded on the Z chromosome were expressed ∼1.6-fold higher in males, reflecting a lack of dosage compensation in the homogametic sex. A smaller set of W chromosome–specific genes was expressed only in females. LPS signaling in mammals is associated with induction of type 1 IFN–responsive genes. Unexpectedly, because IFNs are encoded on the Z chromosome of chickens, unstimulated macrophages from the female birds expressed a set of known IFN-inducible genes at much higher levels than male cells under the same conditions. To confirm that these differences were not the consequence of the actions of gonadal hormones, we induced gonadal sex reversal to alter the hormonal environment of the developing chick and analyzed macrophages cultured from male, female, and female sex-reversed embryos. Gonadal sex reversal did not alter the sexually dimorphic expression of either sex-linked or IFN-responsive genes. We suggest that female birds compensate for the reduced dose of inducible IFN with a higher basal set point of IFN-responsive genes.
Highlights
We have identified differences in gene expression in macrophages grown from the bone marrow of male and female chickens in recombinant chicken M-CSF (CSF1)
There have been a number of reports on the transcriptomic response of chicken macrophage cell lines to LPS [27], to our knowledge, this is the first study of primary chicken bone marrow–derived macrophages (BMDM) that illustrates their use as a system
In mouse [21] and pig [23], analysis of BMDM provided a system in which cells from different individuals or strains can be assayed in a common culture system, removed from effects of other cell types or environment
Summary
Because IFNs are encoded on the Z chromosome of chickens, unstimulated macrophages from the female birds expressed a set of known IFN-inducible genes at much higher levels than male cells under the same conditions. The genes within this cluster were expressed in macrophages from male and female birds, and induced to a similar extent in all three pooled replicates by 24-h LPS stimulation.
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