Submitted to: Veterinary Immunology and Immunopathology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: July 12, 2002
Publication Date: N/A
Interpretive Summary: Immune system of chickens is made up of various lymphoid tissues containing different subpopulation of lymphocytes. Ability to detect the subpopulations of lymphocytes and to study their function represent a critical first step in the development of immunological strategy against various diseases of poultry. In this study, ARS scientists developed several mouse hybridomas which secrete monoclonal antibodies detecting chicken cytokine called IL-15. IL-15 is an important molecule secreted by T-lymphocytes and influences various aspects of chicken immune response. In this study results showed that chicken IL-15 is a key factor for lymphocyte survival. Availability of these antibodies will facilitate basic studies on chicken immunology and help us to understand how chicken immune system develop.
IL-15 gene was cloned by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) from full-length
Technical Abstract:
The chicken IL-15 gene was recently cloned and shown to encode a polypeptide with T cell growth factor activity similar to IL-2. To further characterize the chemical and biological properties of chicken IL-15, we generated a panel of monoclonal antibodies against bacterially expressed protein and characterized their binding specificities. All antibodies were reactive by ELISA with recombinant IL-15, but not IL-2, and identified a 15 kDa recombinant chicken IL-15 by Western blot analysis. Two antibodies inhibited IL-15-induced proliferation of splenic lymphoblast cells. These monoclonal antibodies will be useful for further structural and immunological studies of chicken IL-15.
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