A maternally-inherited alteration in the T cell repertoire of BALB/c mice.
A number of milk-borne exogenous mammary tumor viruses (MMTV) infect mice shortly after birth and, when expressed, produce superantigens. The expression of these superantigens mediate the progressive deletion of T cells expressing specific V beta products. Here we describe a maternally-inherited alteration in the T cell repertoire in one colony of BALB/c mice which has not been reported up to now. This alteration involves the deletion of V beta 2+ and 14+ CD4+ T cells and correlates with a high incidence of mammary tumors, suggesting the involvement of a superantigen(s) probably transmitted through an exogenous MMTV in milk.
Goldman
A
A
División Medicina Experimental, Academia Nacional de Medicina, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Buggiano
V
V
Franco
M
M
Déroche
A
A
Nepomnaschy
I
I
Piazzon
I
I
D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D015967:Gene Expression Regulation, Viral / Q000276:immunology*; D008324:Mammary Tumor Virus, Mouse / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D051379:Mice; D008806:Mice, Inbred AKR; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D011247:Pregnancy; D016693:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, alpha-beta / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*
D016693:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, alpha-beta