title: Donor T-cell development in host thymus after heterotopic limb transplantation in mice.
abstract: We developed a mouse model of heterotopic limb transplantation in which we took advantage of Thy1.1 and Thy1.2 congenic strains to track and characterize donor T cells, to determine the role of recipient's thymus in mixed T-cell chimerism induction as well as transplant immunocompetence. The vascularized Thy1.1 limb graft composed of femur, muscle, and skin (VBT) survived long-term in more than 87.5% of Thy1.2 recipients. Percentages of donor-type Thy1.1 T cells increased from day 30 to 90 in thymus and spleen of recipients. Most peripheral donor T cells displayed a naïve phenotype and a few others were regulatory T cells. Thymectomy prevented peripheral T-cell chimerism. Congenic VBT in immunodeficient RAG mice restored their ability to reject skin allografts. These observations suggest that donor T cells differentiated in host thymus might contribute to maintenance of mixed chimerism after transplantation of tissue composite grafts that include vascularized bone.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Medical Immunology, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Gosselies, Belgium.
authors.forename: Zhanzhuo
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Fleur S
authors.initials: FS
authors.lastname: Benghiat
authors.forename: Carole
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kubjak
authors.forename: Frédéric
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Schuind
authors.forename: Michel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Goldman
authors.forename: Alain
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Le Moine
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D016026:Bone Marrow Transplantation / Q000276:immunology; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D005121:Extremities / Q000637:transplantation*; D006084:Graft Rejection / Q000276:immunology; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000166:cytology* / Q000276:immunology; D018800:Thy-1 Antigens / Q000378:metabolism; D013950:Thymus Gland / Q000166:cytology* / Q000276:immunology; D018183:Transplantation Chimera / Q000276:immunology; D016042:Transplantation, Heterotopic / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D018398:Homeodomain Proteins; D018800:Thy-1 Antigens; C064658:RAG-1 protein