Establishment and characterization of a thymic medullary epithelial cell clone.
Thymic stromal cells were cultured in conditions which select for epithelial cells. These were then transformed in vitro by contact with N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine and cloned at limit dilution. One of the clones was characterized as being of medullary origin on the basis of its reactivity with a battery of antibodies previously shown to distinguish cortical from medullary thymic epithelial cells. The importance of this clone lies in the potential it offers to delineate how various T cell subpopulations acquire their distinct markers and function within the thymus.
D000818:Animals; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D002460:Cell Line; D004847:Epithelial Cells; D006023:Glycoproteins / Q000032:analysis; D000949:Histocompatibility Antigens Class II / Q000032:analysis; D007633:Keratins / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D013950:Thymus Gland / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology
D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D006023:Glycoproteins; D000949:Histocompatibility Antigens Class II; D007633:Keratins