Studies on the chicken lymphocyte receptor for aggregated IGG

Chicken lymphocytes isolated from different lymphoid organs were analyzed for Fc IgG receptor by binding of heat aggregated IgG (agg IgG) in the indirect immunofluorescence test. The binding of agg IgG was shown to be specific for Fc IgG receptor, since IgM and F(ab′)₂ fractions were bound to the lymphocytes in a much less degree. The highest frequency of agg IgG binding cells, almost 100 %, was found in the bursa of Fabricius. In contrast to bursa, only a small percentage of thymus cells bound agg IgG. Dose-dependent experiments showed that binding of agg IgG to thymus cells takes place only at high concentrations of the aggregates whereas bursa cells bind agg IgG also at low concentrations. The finding indicates the existence of high and low avidity agg IgG receptors and/or different density of Fc receptors on bursa and thymus cells. A far lower percentage of EA rosette forming cells than of agg IgG binding cells in the various lymphoid organs may depend on the existence of two different Fc IgG receptors on the chicken lymphocytes.