c-fos expression interferes with thymus development in transgenic mice.
To study the function of the proto-oncogene c-fos in hematopoietic tissues, transgenic mice were generated that express c-fos from the H2-Kb promoter in several organs. These H2-c-fos mice have enlarged spleens and hyperplastic thymuses containing an increased number of thymic epithelial cells. The exogenous c-fos expression specifically affects T cell development in the thymus, thereby increasing the fraction of mature thymocytes. Results obtained with bone marrow radiation chimeras suggest that the altered distribution of T cell subsets is not a direct effect of c-fos expression within the T cell lineage. No changes in the proportion of hematopoietic cell lineages are seen in the spleen, and these mice do not develop lymphoid malignancies. B and T cell function, however, is impaired, and H2-c-fos mice are immune deficient. It appears that c-fos specifically stimulates the proliferation of thymic epithelial cells, and may thus indirectly affect T cell development.
D000818:Animals; D000917:Antibody Formation; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D002471:Cell Transformation, Neoplastic; D004848:Epithelium / Q000473:pathology; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D006413:Hematopoietic System / Q000166:cytology; D006965:Hyperplasia; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics*; D016760:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos; D011519:Proto-Oncogenes; D013154:Spleen / Q000473:pathology; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000166:cytology* / Q000276:immunology; D013950:Thymus Gland / Q000166:cytology* / Q000473:pathology
D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins; D016760:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-fos