Abstract
Abstract
Pieces of bursa, taken from one-day-old line 6, subline 1 chicks, were cultured in vitro for 13 days. During culture, the fragments gradually lost follicular organization and immunoglobulin (Ig)-positive lymphocytes. The basement membrane associated epithelium proliferated and was later seen diffusely layered under intact plical or specific follicular layers. Cultured bursal epithelium (CBE) was transplanted into the wing web of 14-day-old surgically bursectomized syngeneic recipients. The CBE began to enlarge and become vascularized. Microscopic examination of the transplants 22 days after implantation revealed repopulation of lymphocytes which reorganized into follicle-like structures containing Ig-positive cells. Thus, transplantation of CBE into the wing web of bursectomized chickens may be a good model for simulating the naturally occurring events in avian B-cell development.
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