MHC class II molecules are not required for survival of newly generated CD4+ T cells, but affect their long-term life span.
We grafted fetal thymi from wild-type mice into immunodeficient RAG-2-/- or class II-/-RAG-2-/- (class II MHC-) recipients and followed the fate of naive CD4+ T cells derived from the grafts. In both types of recipients, newly generated CD4+ T cells proliferated to the same extent in the periphery and rapidly filled the empty T cell compartment. However, CD4+ T cells in class II- recipients gradually decreased in number over 6 months. These results show that interactions between the TCR and class II molecules are not required for newly generated CD4+ T cells to survive and proliferate, but are necessary to maintain the size of the peripheral T cell pool for extended periods.
Takeda
S
S
Basel Institute for Immunology, Switzerland.
Rodewald
H R
HR
Arakawa
H
H
Bluethmann
H
H
Shimizu
T
T
D000818:Animals; D017252:CD3 Complex / Q000032:analysis; D015704:CD4 Antigens / Q000032:analysis; D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000502:physiology*; D000949:Histocompatibility Antigens Class II / Q000502:physiology*; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D051379:Mice; D016693:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, alpha-beta / Q000032:analysis / Q000502:physiology; D013950:Thymus Gland / Q000637:transplantation
D017252:CD3 Complex; D015704:CD4 Antigens; D000949:Histocompatibility Antigens Class II; D016693:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, alpha-beta