Abstract
Chicken alpha-fetoprotein (ch-AFP), purified from fetal chicken serum and embryo extracts, respectively, was examined for its immunomodulatory effect in vitro. Significant ( P < 0.05) suppression of the allogeneic mixed lymphocyte reaction (MLR) was observed, when these preparations were added to one-way mixed lymphocyte cultures (MLC) in quantities of 62.5–1000 μg/ml. Suppression of the MLR was depending on the presence of ch-AFP for at least 16 h after initiation of the MLC, suggesting that this fetal protein was acting mainly in the early phase of lymphoblastogenesis. Serum of chicken embryos (12th and 15th day of incubation), day-old chickens, and of 10-week-old chickens of four different inbred lines were also found to exert suppression of the MLR. From these data, it is hypothesized that ch-AFP plays an immunoregulatory role by maintaining a certain stage of self tolerance during differentiation of the avian immune system.
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