Xenogeneic Erythrocytes Research Articles

Studies of the spontaneous rosette-forming cells in the bursa of Fabricius of the chicken.

The ability of the lymphoid cells of the bursa of Fabricius of the chicken to form rosettes with sheep red blood cells (SRBC) and rabbit red blood cells (RRBC) has been studied. Large numbers of rosette-forming cells (RFC) were found using either antigen. RFC binding RRBC were three times as frequent as RFC binding SRBC (780/10<sup>6</sup> vs. 240/10<sup>6</sup> bursa cells). Rosette formation was inhibited by rabbit antisera to chicken immunoglobulin. The binding of SRBC and RRBC to the individual bursa cell was specific because less than 13% of RFC demonstrated by simultaneous incubation with RRBC and SRBC contained both types of erythrocytes (‘mixed rosettes’). The results suggest that bursa cells, presumably by antibody-like receptors formed by the antigen-binding cell itself, specifically bind xenogeneic erythrocytes. The frequency of RFC binding SRBC was approximately twice as high in the bursal medulla (448/10<sup>6</sup> cells) as in the cortex (220/10<sup>6</sup> cells). The frequency of medullary RFC binding SRBC, possibly representing the early stages of RFC development in the bursa, was not significantly influenced 1–4 days after intravenous immunization with SRBC.