Molecular Cloning of Chicken Major Histocompatibility Complex Class II Molecules

The chicken major histocompatibility complex (MHC), the B complex, is beginning to be analyzed at the DNA level. Inbred lines of chickens have been reported to possess 3~5 MHC class II genes. To further analyzed the molecular structure of the chicken MHC class II genes, cDNA clones coding for chicken MHC class II (B-L) ${\beta}$ chain molecules were isolated from chicken spleen and liver. Tissue-specific transcription of B-L ${\beta}$genes was studied by Northern blot analysis. A high level of expression was detected for spleen poly(A)$^+$ RNA whereas a faint signal was detected for liver poly(A)$^+$ RNA. Twenty-nine cDNA clones were isolated from the spleen and eight cDNA clones were isolated from the liver. Based on restriction maps, most clones could be clustered into one family of genes. Four cDNA clones were sequenced (S7, S10 and S19 from the spleen and L1, which was identical to S19, from the liver). Complete amino acid sequences of B-L ${\beta}$ chain molecules were predicated from the nucleotide sequences of the cDNA clones. Although both the nature and the location of the conserved residues were similar in chicken and mammalian sequences, some species-specific differences were found, suggesting that the structures of the B-L molecules are similar, but not identical to their mammalian counterparts.