Hemagglutinin responses of chickens, Japanese quail and chukars to xenogenic red blood cell antigens

Abstract

Mercaptoethanol (ME) assays were performed on serum from quail immunized with chukar, sheep, turkey or pheasant red blood cell antigen. Absolute ME-resistant and ME-sensitive titers were highest in the chukar red blood cell (CRBC) injected group, but the relative percentages of total titers which were ME-resistant were similar in all four groups. A comparative study of antibody titers in chickens immunized with CRBC or sheep red blood cell antigen (SRBC) demonstrated that chickens responded with higher antibody titers to SRBC than to CRBC. In addition, immune responses of the chukar to SRBC, Japanese quail or chicken red blood cell antigen (JQRBC and ChRBC, respectively) were investigated. Adequate hemagglutinin titers were produced by the chukar to SRBC and JQRBC, but anti-ChRBC titers were very low. Thus, the Japanese quail anti-CRBC response was due to an increased production of both ME-sensitive and ME-resistant antibodies, and CRBC is an antigen of choice in Japanese quail, but is not superior to SRBC in-chickens.