Expression of chicken leukocyte cell-derived chemotaxin 2 in the embryonic bursa of Fabricius

Authors: FELFOLDI, BALAZS - Mississippi State University; WANG, HUI - Mississippi State University; NUTHALAPATI, NIKHIL - Mississippi State University; TAYLOR, ROBERT - West Virginia University; Evans, Jeffrey - Jeff; BRANTON, SCOTT - Retired ARS Employee; PHARR, GREGORY - Mississippi State University

Submitted to: International Journal of Poultry Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/29/2020
Publication Date: 1/24/2021
Citation: Felfoldi, B., Wang, H., Nuthalapati, N., Taylor, R.L., Evans, J.D., Branton, S.L., Pharr, G.T. 2021. Expression of chicken leukocyte cell-derived chemotaxin 2 in the embryonic bursa of Fabricius. International Journal of Poultry Science. 20:43-47. https://doi.org/=ijps.2021.43.47.

Interpretive Summary: A pleiotropic cytokine of unknown function named LECT2 was previously found associated with the bursa of Fabricius of embryo from a commercial layer chick. To help to determine the function of LECT2, expression analyses were performed. Results showed that the LECT2 gene is expressed at increased levels in B-cells during the early stages of bursa development. LECT2 may help the B-cells to localize in non-lymphatic tissue or tissue not responsible for producing antibodies or lymphocytes, but further research is needed to fully understand the role of the cytokine.

Technical Abstract: A previous transcriptomics analysis identified the expression of a pleiotropic cytokine, termed leukocyte cell-derived chemotaxin 2 (LECT2) in the bursa of Fabricius of the chick embryo. However, a role for the LECT2 gene product in the bursal microenvironment is unknown at present. The goal for this research project was to validate the expression of the LECT2 gene at the mRNA and protein level in the chick embryo bursa. The LECT2 gene transcript levels were determined by quantitative PCR with RNA derived from embryonic B-cells isolated at two different periods of bursal development. Whole protein extracts from the embryonic bursa were evaluated by mass spectrometry. Expression of the LECT2 gene is significantly higher in B-cells from the early stage of bursal development. Mass spectrometry analysis revealed 9 different peptides from the LECT2 protein in the same embryonic period. Conclusion: The LECT2 gene is expressed at both the mRNA and protein level in the early period of bursa development. We postulate that LECT2 may contribute to B-cell migration into microenvironments established by non-lymphoid cells.