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CD8 + T Cells Induce Medullary Thymic Epithelium and CD4 + CD8 + CD25 + TCRβ − Thymocytes in SCID Mice
Author(s) -
Ekholm Pettersson F.,
Schneider M. K. J.,
Andersson J.,
Grönvik K.O.
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
scandinavian journal of immunology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.934
H-Index - 88
eISSN - 1365-3083
pISSN - 0300-9475
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-3083.2001.00983.x
Subject(s) - thymocyte , cd8 , biology , microbiology and biotechnology , il 2 receptor , cytotoxic t cell , t cell receptor , t lymphocyte , t cell , endocrinology , immunology , antigen , immune system , in vitro , biochemistry
During T‐cell development the transition in the thymus of CD4 − CD8 − double negative (DN) progenitor T cells into CD4 + CD8 + double positive (DP) cells is dependent on the expression of a T‐cell receptor (TCR)‐β‐chain protein. In this study purified peripheral CD4 + and CD8 + T lymphocytes from the C.B‐17 strain of mice were adoptively transferred into syngeneic, neonatal SCID mice, where donor cells resided at constant numbers in thymus from 2 weeks until 10 weeks post cell transfer. In the recipient thymus the CD8 + donor cells outnumbered the CD4 + cells by a factor of three to five and both subsets contained a large fraction of activated cells. During the late phase of treatment, CD8 + T cells induced high numbers of DP thymocytes in the SCID mice, a process accompanied by the maturation of medullary epithelial cells. Such thymic development in the SCID mouse was inhibited by coresiding CD4 + donor T cells. These results indicate a regulatory role by mature peripheral T cells on medullary epithelial growth and thymocyte development in the treated SCID mice.