Stochastic component to development of class I major histocompatibility complex-specific T cells.
The mechanism by which an initially uncommitted cell chooses between alternative fates is a central issue in developmental biology. In the mammalian thymus, CD4 helper T cells and CD8 cytotoxic T cells arise from a common precursor that expresses both CD4 and CD8. The choice between the CD4 and CD8 lineage is linked to the specificity of the T-cell antigen receptor expressed by a thymocyte, but whether lineage commitment is stochastic or instructed has not been definitively resolved. We present evidence that expression of a constitutive CD8 transgene during thymic selection permits development of mature CD4 cells bearing the class I-restricted F5 T-cell antigen receptor. These results suggest that there is a stochastic component to the development of class I major histocompatibility complex-restricted T cells.
Itano
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Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley 94720.
Kioussis
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Robey
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D000818:Animals; D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000166:cytology; D016827:CD8 Antigens / Q000502:physiology*; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D006183:H-2 Antigens / Q000276:immunology; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D011948:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell / Q000502:physiology*; D013269:Stochastic Processes; D016176:T-Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000166:cytology*; D013950:Thymus Gland / Q000166:cytology
D016827:CD8 Antigens; D006183:H-2 Antigens; D011948:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell