Targeted complementation of MHC class II deficiency by intrathymic delivery of recombinant adenoviruses.
De novo differentiation of CD4+ T cells was provoked in mice lacking major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II molecules by intrathymic injection of adenovirus vectors carrying class II genes. This permits a new approach to questions concerning the dynamics of CD4+ T cell compartments in the thymus and peripheral lymphoid organs. Here two issues are explored. First, we show that mature CD4+ CD8- cells reside in the thymus for a protracted period before emigrating to the periphery, highlighting the potential importance of, and our ignorance of, the postselection maturation period. Second, we demonstrate that the survival of CD4+ cells in peripheral lymphoid organs is markedly curtailed when class II molecules are absent and is not further reduced in the absence of both class II and class I molecules, raising the possibility that MHC-mediated selection may continue in the periphery.
Rooke
R
R
Institut de Génétique et de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire, Institut National de la Santé et la Recherche Médicale, Université Louis Pasteur, Illkirch, Strasbourg, France.
Waltzinger
C
C
Benoist
C
C
Mathis
D
D
D000256:Adenoviridae / Q000235:genetics*; D000818:Animals; D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D018414:CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D002451:Cell Compartmentation; D005816:Genetic Complementation Test; D000949:Histocompatibility Antigens Class II / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology*; D007700:Kinetics; D051379:Mice; D008817:Mice, Mutant Strains; D008957:Models, Genetic; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D013950:Thymus Gland / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000821:virology
D000949:Histocompatibility Antigens Class II; D011994:Recombinant Proteins