title: A role of CXC chemokine ligand 12/stromal cell-derived factor-1/pre-B cell growth stimulating factor and its receptor CXCR4 in fetal and adult T cell development in vivo.
abstract: The functions of a chemokine CXC chemokine ligand (CXCL) 12/stromal cell-derived factor-1/pre-B cell growth stimulating factor and its physiologic receptor CXCR4 in T cell development are controversial. In this study, we have genetically further characterized their roles in fetal and adult T cell development using mutant and chimeric mice. In CXCL12(-/-) or CXCR4(-/-) embryos on a C57BL/6 background, accumulation of T cell progenitors in the outer mesenchymal layer of the thymus anlage during initial colonization of the fetal thymus was comparable with that seen in wild-type embryos. However, the expansion of CD3(-)CD4(-)CD8(-) triple-negative T cell precursors at the CD44(-)CD25(+) and CD44(-)CD25(-) stages, and CD4(+)CD8(+) double-positive thymocytes was affected during embryogenesis in these mutants. In radiation chimeras competitively repopulated with CXCR4(-/-) fetal liver cells, the reduction in donor-derived thymocytes compared with wild-type chimeras was much more severe than the reduction in donor-derived myeloid lineage cells in bone marrow. Triple negative CD44(+)CD25(+) T cell precursors exhibited survival response to CXCL12 in the presence of stem cell factor as well as migratory response to CXCL12. Thus, it may be that CXCL12 and CXCR4 are involved in the expansion of T cell precursors in both fetal and adult thymus in vivo. Finally, enforced expression of bcl-2 did not rescue impaired T cell development in CXCR4(-/-) embryos or impaired reconstitution of CXCR4(-/-) thymocytes in competitively repopulated mice, suggesting that defects in T cell development caused by CXCR4 mutation are not caused by reduced expression of bcl-2.
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology, Research Institute, Osaka Medical Center for Maternal and Child Health, Osaka, Japan.
authors.forename: Toshiaki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ara
authors.forename: Manami
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Itoi
authors.forename: Kenji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kawabata
authors.forename: Takeshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Egawa
authors.forename: Koji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tokoyoda
authors.forename: Tatsuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sugiyama
authors.forename: Nobutaka
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Fujii
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Amagai
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nagasawa
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D000818:Animals; D016175:B-Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D001854:Bone Marrow Cells / Q000473:pathology; D016026:Bone Marrow Transplantation; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D002455:Cell Division / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D002465:Cell Movement / Q000276:immunology; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000276:immunology; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D054377:Chemokine CXCL12; D019743:Chemokines, CXC / Q000172:deficiency / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D005314:Embryonic and Fetal Development / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology*; D016332:Fetal Tissue Transplantation / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology; D006412:Hematopoietic Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D016031:Liver Transplantation / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D009154:Mutation; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D011828:Radiation Chimera / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D019718:Receptors, CXCR4 / Q000172:deficiency / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D016176:T-Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000166:cytology* / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D013950:Thymus Gland / Q000166:cytology / Q000196:embryology / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D054377:Chemokine CXCL12; D019743:Chemokines, CXC; C515256:Cxcl12 protein, mouse; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2; D019718:Receptors, CXCR4