Description:
Chicken Bu-1a, a product of the Bu-1a allele, is expressed on the cell surface as a disulfide-linked homodimer. In 10-week-old H.B15 and H.B2 chickens, Bu-1 is found on 85-90% of bursal cells, 2-8% of thymocytes, 15-27% of spleen cells, and 2-18% of peripheral blood cells. It is also expressed on subsets of macrophages and monocytes but not on granulocytes, erythrocytes, or thrombocytes. In chickens heterozygous for the Bu-1 alleles (Bu-1a/b), Bu-1a does not exhibit allelic exclusion. The monoclonal antibody 21-1A4 does not react with cells from CHA and H.B14ab strains by immunofluorescence.