Functional diversity of polypeptides in primary culture supernatant of thymus epithelial cells.
Polypeptide fractions A-C (M.W., 7 kd, 4.7 kd, and 3 kd) were obtained from the primary culture supernatant of thymus epithelial cells from Wistar rats by high-pressure liquid chromatography with a gel-filtration column. Changes in the mitogen responses of rat thymocytes and their subpopulations with addition of a fraction were studied. One subpopulation was rich in non-rosette-forming cells (non-RFCs), and the other was cortisone resistant thymocytes (CRTs). These subpopulations were incubated with a fraction for 24 hrs. before mitogen stimulation. Fractions A and C increased the response of the non-RFCs to concanavalin A (Con A) and that of total thymocytes and CRTs to phytohemagglutinin (PHA). Fraction B inhibited Con A and PHA response of total thymocytes and CRTs. Fraction B was cytotoxic toward total thymocytes and CRTs when viability was evaluated by [3H]uridine prelabelling. This cytotoxicity was suppressed by treatment with trypsin. Subfractions B3 and B4 obtained by reversed-phase column chromatography were cytotoxic toward CRTs. The effects of the fractions on thymocyte maturation were different, showing their functional diversity.
Oshitani
N
N
Hato
F
F
Kinoshita
Y
Y
D000818:Animals; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D003208:Concanavalin A / Q000494:pharmacology; D003348:Cortisone / Q000494:pharmacology; D004847:Epithelial Cells; D004848:Epithelium / Q000187:drug effects; D008297:Male; D010455:Peptides / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000494:pharmacology; D010835:Phytohemagglutinins / Q000494:pharmacology; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D013950:Thymus Gland / Q000166:cytology* / Q000187:drug effects
D010455:Peptides; D010835:Phytohemagglutinins; D003208:Concanavalin A; D003348:Cortisone