Selective Activation of Chicken T Lymphocytes by Concanavalin A

Abstract

Summary In vitro response to Con A of chicken spleen lymphocytes was reduced by thymectomy carried out at hatching and completed by irradiation. Bursectomy combined with irradiation was ineffective. The effect of thymectomy was partially reversed by transplantation of thymus cells from 10-week-old donors although transplantation of bursa cells had no effect. These findings indicate that, also in the chicken, Con A is selectively a T cell mitogen.