Chicken Major Histocompatibility Complex class I (MHC I (BF))

Chicken Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) class I, commonly known as BF, is a pivotal immune receptor responsible for presenting endogenous peptides to CD8+ T cells. It is characterized as a 'minimal essential MHC' because it is significantly smaller and more gene-dense than the mammalian equivalent, located on chromosome 16 (Kaufman et al., 1999, Nature). The system primarily consists of two loci, BF1 and BF2, where BF2 is typically the dominantly expressed molecule that determines the immune response to most pathogens (Walker et al., 2011, Immunogenetics). This target is highly significant in veterinary medicine due to its strong association with resistance or susceptibility to Marek's disease, a major oncogenic herpesvirus in poultry (Miller & Taylor, 2016, Poultry Science). In drug and vaccine development, Chicken MHC class I is a primary focus for designing peptide-based vaccines and understanding how viral pathogens evolve to evade avian immune detection (Kaufman, 2015, Annual Review of Immunology). Its extreme polymorphism across different chicken breeds requires careful consideration of genetic backgrounds when developing broad-spectrum poultry therapeutics.

Other names

BF antigenB-FGallus gallus MHC class IB-locus class IChicken MHC class I antigen

Chicken MHC class I molecules bind endogenous peptides derived from viral or intracellular proteins and present them on the cell surface to CD8+ cytotoxic T lymphocytes, which then initiate the destruction of the infected or transformed cell (Kaufman, 2018, Nature).