title: Characterization of rat T cell precursors sorted by chemotactic migration toward thymotaxin.
abstract: An established rat thymic cell line secretes a peptide in the 11 kd range called thymotaxin that attracts a small subset of juvenile rat bone marrow cells via a chemotactic mechanism. The selected cell subset (0.1% of the total bone marrow) is composed of low-density lymphoid cells that do not replicate, and display an immature Thy-1+T-B- phenotype. Thymotaxin-responding cells do not grow in semi-solid cultures under hemopoietic growth factors stimulation, and survive only in coculture with thymic stroma under steroid-free conditions. This stroma mimics the thymic microenvironment and allows a fraction of responding bone marrow cells to acquire T cell differentiation markers and to synthesize transcripts of the TCR alpha and beta chains. Chemotactic migration toward thymic epithelial cell peptides can be used in vitro to sort pre-T cells from the rat bone marrow. The sorted T cell precursors are resting stem cells possibly committed to lymphoid lineage.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Physiopathologie du Développement CNRS et Ecole Normale Supérieure, Paris, France.
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Deugnier
authors.forename: B A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Imhof
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Bauvois
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Dunon
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Denoyelle
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Thiery
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000954:Antigens, Surface / Q000032:analysis / Q000235:genetics; D001853:Bone Marrow / Q000187:drug effects; D001854:Bone Marrow Cells; D002453:Cell Cycle / Q000187:drug effects; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000187:drug effects; D002465:Cell Movement / Q000187:drug effects; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002630:Chemotactic Factors / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005260:Female; D008264:Macrophages; D008297:Male; D010641:Phenotype; D011247:Pregnancy; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000032:analysis / Q000166:cytology*; D018800:Thy-1 Antigens; D013950:Thymus Gland / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D014158:Transcription, Genetic; D001613:beta 2-Microglobulin
chemical_list: D000954:Antigens, Surface; D002630:Chemotactic Factors; D018800:Thy-1 Antigens; D001613:beta 2-Microglobulin