INVESTIGATION OF MINK MHC (MHCMUVI) CLASS-I MOLECULES BY ISOELECTRIC-FOCUSING (IEF)

Mink (Mustela vision) class I leucocyte antigens, here abbreviated MhcMuvi according to the proposal given by Klein et al. (1990), were characterized by isoelectric focusing (IEF), using Triton X-114-extracted and neuraminidase-treated membrane proteins from spleen cells, followed by immunoblotting and development with a murine monoclonal antibody raised against denatured major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I antigens. Muvi class I antigens were investigated in a group of 97 Danish mink (including five families), of six types (Standard, Wild, Pastel, Pearl, Violet and Sapphire), and a group of 110 French 'Wild' mink. For each mink type maximally six protein bands in IEF were identified. Standard, Pastel and Sapphire mink only exhibited from two to four bands. This to us indicated restricted polymorphism of the Muvi class I antigens for these mink. The restriction patterns varied from farm to farm. In the family material the Muvi antigens were found to segregate as expected. The French Wild mink were all naturally infected with Aleutian disease virus (ADV), a parvovirus, and their disease status classified as progressive or non-progressive. There were approximately 50% in each group. The mink were grouped into one of five class I Muvi profiles. When the profiles were compared to progressive versus non-progressive disease status, we found that mink with Muvi profile 4 and 5 almost exclusively (13 out of 15) were classified as having progressive Aleutian disease.