Expression In Lymphoid Tissues Research Articles

Bursal and thymic alloantigen expression in lymphoid tissues of the chicken.

Aves represent that point on the evolutionary tree where separation of lymphoid tissues into thymus-dependent (T cell) and thymus-independent (B cell) lymphoid systems has been compartmentalized to its fullest. Two primary lymphoid organs control differentiation of immunity in birds — the thymus governs development of lymphocytes primarily mediating cellular immune functions, while the bursa of Fabricius controls the maturation of antibody-forming cells (1, 2). The division into T and B cell systems is not as anatomically distinct in other vertebrates, but studies in a number of species indicate that functionally such compartmentalization does exist (3–6). Thus, although Aves present a unique opportunity for studying the relative contribution of T and B cells to immune functions, knowledge gained in this model system has far wider applicability.KeywordsLymphoid TissueThymus CellLymphoid SystemCellular Immune FunctionPeripheral Lymphoid TissueThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.