Immunoglobulin‐bearing lymphocytes of the chicken. I. Heavy chain immunoglobulin commitment and organ distribution

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Abstract
When purified anti‐immunoglobulin light chain antibodies were used in indirect immunofluorescence or labeled with 125I for autoradiographic staining, a similar percentage of Ig‐bearing lymphocytes were detected by both techniques in lymphoid cell suspensions from the thymus or blood of 8–14‐week‐old chickens. However, a larger proportion of Ig positive lymphocytes were detected in suspensions of bursal cells by the more sensitive autoradiographic method, suggesting a lower surface density of Ig: perhaps on newly differentiated stem cells. In thymus and spleen suspensions, the proportions of Ig positive lymphocytes carrying μ and γ‐chains were roughly equal, whereas in the B cell populations of the bursa and blood, cells carrying surface γ‐chains predominated. IgA‐bearing lymphocytes were only a minor population (<5%) in lymphocyte suspensions prepared from the thymus, bursa, blood and spleen of adult chickens, but formed almost 50% of the Ig‐bearing lymphocytes in the caecal tonsils.