Differentiation patterns of CD4/CD8 thymocyte subsets in cocultures of fetal thymus and lymphohemopoietic cells from c-fos transgenic and normal mice.
This study examined the involvement of c-fos protooncogene in thymocyte development from lymphohemopoietic T cell progenitors, within the thymic microenvironment. We first analyzed the thymocytes developing in vitro in the fetal thymus from the c-fos transgenic mice and found a high proportion of CD4+ single positive (SP) cells. We then seeded either fetal liver or bone marrow (BM) cells from normal donors onto lymphocyte-depleted fetal thymus explants of c-fos transgenic mice. The results showed an increased proportion of mature CD4+ SP and decreased CD4+CD8+ double positive (DP) cells. A similar pattern of CD4/CD8 thymocyte subsets was observed when either thymus or BM cells from c-fos transgenic mice developed within a normal thymic stroma. The kinetics of thymocyte development in organ culture (from Days 3 to 11) suggested that the SP cells obtained under these conditions may have bypassed the CD4+CD8+ DP phase. It appears that the altered pattern of thymocyte development manifested in adult c-fos transgenic mice can be induced by the early embryonic thymic stroma, and may also involve cells in the lymphohemopoietic tissues.
Fridkis-Hareli
M
M
Department of Cell Biology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel.
Abel
L
L
Eisenbach
L
L
Globerson
A
A
D000818:Animals; D016516:CD4-CD8 Ratio; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D016762:Genes, fos / Q000235:genetics*; D006412:Hematopoietic Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology*; D051379:Mice; D008815:Mice, Inbred Strains; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D009924:Organ Culture Techniques; D016176:T-Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000166:cytology* / Q000276:immunology; D013950:Thymus Gland / Q000166:cytology* / Q000196:embryology