Thymic stromal cells induce hapten-specific, genetically restricted effector suppressor cells in vivo.
Thymic stromal cells (TSC) from CKB (H-2k) and B10.BR (H-2k) mice were cultured to examine if these cell populations would induce suppressor cell responses. I-A molecules were not detected on the surface of TSC, however, following incubation of these cells with recombinant interferon (IFN)-gamma, I-A antigens were induced. Non-specific esterase activity was seen in 5% of the cultured B10.BR cells but was absent in CKB derived cultures. Morphologically, both CKB and BR-TSC populations lacked an epithelial ultrastructure and cytokeratin immunoreactivity, hence were mesenchymal. As there was no evidence of surface Mac-1 and 33D1 molecules, these cells were not of macrophage or dendritic cell lineage. Both B10.BR and CKB TSC cells (1 x 10(4] induced effector suppressor cells when chemically conjugated with the hapten, NP-O-Succinamide (NP) and injected subcutaneously into syngeneic mice. The suppression by transferred lymph node cells was not always present when TSC were cultured in medium without IFN-gamma, but after incubation with IFN-gamma for 4 days, a significant suppression was consistently evident. Genetically restricted induction of suppressive activity was noted when the I-J-congenic strains of mice, B10.A (5R) and B10.A (3R), were used as the lymph node donors; suppressor cells generated in 5R (I-Jk) mice, significantly suppressed the syngeneic response, whereas in the 3R (I-Jb) strain, there was no significant suppression. The suppression was hapten-specific and depended on both the number of TSC and the dose of IFN-gamma. All these data taken together suggest that, although the TSC used in this study appears to be a mixture of heterogeneous cell populations from the thymic stroma, TSC are capable of inducing hapten-specific, genetically restricted effector suppressor cells when IFN-gamma is included in the culture system.
Ishikura
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Department of Pathology, Hokkaido University School of Medicine, Sapporo, Japan.
Dorf
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D000818:Animals; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D003238:Connective Tissue / Q000276:immunology; D003239:Connective Tissue Cells; D004121:Dimethyl Sulfoxide / Q000494:pharmacology; D005260:Female; D006183:H-2 Antigens / Q000276:immunology*; D006241:Haptens / Q000276:immunology*; D006968:Hypersensitivity, Delayed; D007108:Immune Tolerance; D007114:Immunization; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000494:pharmacology; D008198:Lymph Nodes; D051379:Mice; D008815:Mice, Inbred Strains; D009596:Nitrophenols / Q000494:pharmacology; D010853:Picryl Chloride / Q000494:pharmacology; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D013154:Spleen; D050378:T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology*; D013950:Thymus Gland / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology*
D006183:H-2 Antigens; D006241:Haptens; D009596:Nitrophenols; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; C026654:4-hydroxy-3-nitrophenylacetyl-O-succinimide ester; D007371:Interferon-gamma; D004121:Dimethyl Sulfoxide; D010853:Picryl Chloride