title: Functional analysis of Mel-14+ and Mel-14- early precursor cells in the adult mouse thymus.
abstract: The earliest T-cell precursor population in the adult mouse thymus (low CD4 precursors) may be divided into 85% of cells expressing surface Mel-14 (LECAM-1, the lymphocyte homing receptor) and 15% of cells which are Mel-14. To date, this is the only surface marker for which we have found this population to be heterogeneous. The precursor activity of the Mel-14+ and Mel-14- subpopulation was assessed by both intrathymic and intravenous transfer of sorted cells into Ly5 congenic irradiated recipient mice. On both a cell-for-cell and a total activity basis, almost all precursor activity was associated with the Mel-14+ cells. No segregation was seen between T-cell, B-cell and dendritic cell precursor activity of the low CD4 population, all activities being concentrated in the Mel-14+ fraction. This strengthens the hypothesis that one precursor cell has the potential to form all three lineages.
authors.affiliation: Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: D'Amico
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology; D015815:Cell Adhesion Molecules / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000502:physiology*; D017690:Cell Transplantation; D003713:Dendritic Cells / Q000276:immunology; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D019041:L-Selectin; D008198:Lymph Nodes / Q000166:cytology; D008212:Lymphocyte Depletion; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D016201:Receptors, Lymphocyte Homing / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000502:physiology*; D013154:Spleen / Q000166:cytology; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology / Q000502:physiology*; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology; D013950:Thymus Gland / Q000166:cytology* / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D015815:Cell Adhesion Molecules; D016201:Receptors, Lymphocyte Homing; D019041:L-Selectin