Tissue expression patterns of chicken octamer-binding proteins

Program of Immunobiology, Iowa State University, Ames 50011, USA.

The octamer motif is important in transcriptional regulation of genes of the immune system in many species, including the chicken. Little is known, however, regarding octamer-binding protein expression in chicken tissues. We examined octamer-binding protein expression patterns in multiple chicken tissues (ovary, cerebrum, liver, lung, kidney, spleen, thymus, and bursa of Fabricius) plus two lymphocyte cell lines. Every tissue and cell line had multiple octamer-binding proteins. Seven distinct protein-DNA complexes were identified. Our results demonstrate that multiple octamer-binding proteins, exhibiting differential tissue expression, exist in a wide variety of tissues of the chicken.