title: Characterization of expanded T cell clones in healthy macaques: ontogeny, distribution and stability.
abstract: Peripheral expanded T cell clones have been discussed mainly in relation to certain diseases or immune function in humans and mice. There is little information on their ontogeny, stability and distribution among T cell subsets as well as major lymphoid organs. We applied reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) with family specific primers for monkey T cell receptor beta chain V regions and single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) analysis to analyze the expanded T cell clones in cynomolgus monkeys (Macaca fascicularis). A number of expanded T cell clones were detected in the peripheral blood of young and adult monkeys, but few expanded T cell clones were detected in the blood of a fetus and a 2-day-old neonate. The clones in adults were maintained over 3 months. These expanded T cell clones were distributed only in peripheral blood and spleen, but few were found in lymph nodes (axillary, inguinal and intestinal). The number of expanded T cell clones was much greater in CD8 single-positive (CD8sp) T cells than in CD4sp T cells, showing that most of these clones originated in the CD8sp T cell population. Almost all the expanded CD8sp T cell clones belonged to the CD28(-), CD29(hi) and Fas(+) subset. The usage of V beta genes was not skewed in the 24 V beta. Furthermore, higher mRNA signals for effector molecules perforin and IFN-gamma were detected in CD8sp T cell subsets with phenotypes of CD28(-), CD29(hi) and Fas(+), suggesting that the expanded T cells might have developed in relation to T cell activation in the periphery of cynomolgus monkeys.
authors.affiliation: Tsukuba Primate Center, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Ibaraki, Japan.
authors.forename: K H
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Nam
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Illés
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Terao
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yoshikawa
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yamamura
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D018414:CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D002455:Cell Division / Q000276:immunology; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000276:immunology; D002999:Clone Cells; D016130:Immunophenotyping; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D008252:Macaca fascicularis; D018807:Polymorphism, Single-Stranded Conformational; D016693:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, alpha-beta / Q000378:metabolism; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000166:cytology* / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D016693:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, alpha-beta