Investigation of Immnune Function in Naval Marine Mammals.

Tremendous progress has been made over the past year in the development of cetacean-specific reagents to investigate immune function in Navy marine mammals. We have focused most of our efforts in studying and developing molecular reagents and antibodies to cD4, a cell surface recognition molecule pr...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Romano, Tracy A.
Other Authors: TEXAS A AND M UNIV COLLEGE STATION DEPT OF VETERINARY ANATOMY
Format: Text
Language:English
Published: 1998
Subjects:
Biology
Medicine and Medical Research
*MAMMALS
*DEOXYRIBONUCLEIC ACIDS
*MONOCLONAL ANTIBODIES
*IMMUNITY
*DOLPHINS(MAMMALS)
COUPLING(INTERACTION)
FUNCTIONS
SYNTHESIS
BACTERIA
PEPTIDES
POLYMERIZATION
CHEMICAL AGENTS
CLONES
RESPONSE(BIOLOGY)
GENETIC ENGINEERING
CELLS(BIOLOGY)
LIBRARIES
LYMPHOCYTES
CHAIN REACTIONS
BLOOD COUNTS
RABBITS
AQUATIC ANIMALS
LYSIS
DELPHINAPTERUS LEUCAS
THYMUS
CD4 CELLS
Beluga
Beluga*
Delphinapterus leucas
Online Access:http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/ADA349490
http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?&verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA349490
Description
Summary:Tremendous progress has been made over the past year in the development of cetacean-specific reagents to investigate immune function in Navy marine mammals. We have focused most of our efforts in studying and developing molecular reagents and antibodies to cD4, a cell surface recognition molecule present on T helper lymphocyte that is critical for the immune response. Previously, we cloned cetacean cD4 from a beluga cDNA library using the polymerase chain reaction and cDNA library screening techniques. To generate antibodies against cetacean CD4, we synthesized peptides to different regions of the molecule and expressed the CD4 protein in a bacteria expression vector, and subsequently, injected coupled peptides or the purified cD4 protein into rabbits. Both sets of antibodies were affinity purified, and characterized by Western blot analysis and flow cytometry. These antibodies recognized beluga and bottlenose dolphin lymphocyte lysates by Western blot analysis, but did not recognize the native form of the cD4 protein on the cell surface by flow cytometry. Immunofluorescence on tissue sections is currently being tested with these antibodies. In addition we have generated and purified antibodies to a variant form of cD4 we found in beluga when cloning the full-length cD4. The significance of this potential splice variant of CD4 in the beluga is currently being investigated with the antibodies we have generated.

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