Development and characterization of mouse monoclonal antibodies reactive with chicken CD83.

Abstract This study was carried out to develop and characterize mouse monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against chicken CD83 ( ch CD83), a membrane-bound glycoprotein belonging to the immunoglobulin superfamily that is primarily expressed on mature dendritic cells (DCs). A recombinant ch CD83/IgG4 fusion protein containing the extracellular region of chCD83 was expressed in Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cells and isolated from the spent cell culture medium by protein G affinity chromatography. The extracellular region of the ch CD83 protein was purified and used to immunize mice. A cell fusion was performed, from which 342 hybridomas were screened for mAbs to ch CD83. Two mAbs, ch CD83-159 and ch CD83-227, stained the greatest percentage of ch CD83-transfected CHO cells and were selected for further characterization. By flow cytometry, both mAbs reacted with a chicken macrophage cell line, HD11. Both mAbs also recognized a single 53 kDa protein on Western blots of lysates from lipopolysaccharide-stimulated spleen mononuclear cells or unstimulated HD11 cells. Immunostaining of chicken secondary lymphoid organs identified ch CD83 + cells with morphologic and subtissue localization properties comparable to mammalian DCs. In vitro stimulation of spleen mononuclear cells with concanavalin A (Con A) decreased the percentage of ch CD83 + cells compared with cells treated with medium alone. Interestingly, spleen cells treated with Con A in the presence of ch CD83-227 mAb exhibited decreased percentage of MHCII + cells compared with cells treated with an isotype-matched negative control mAb. These ch CD83 mAbs may be useful for future investigations of chicken immune cell maturation and mechanisms of action.