A human postnatal lymphoid progenitor capable of circulating and seeding the thymus.
Identification of a thymus-seeding progenitor originating from human bone marrow (BM) constitutes a key milestone in understanding the mechanisms of T cell development and provides new potential for correcting T cell deficiencies. We report the characterization of a novel lymphoid-restricted subset, which is part of the lineage-negative CD34(+)CD10(+) progenitor population and which is distinct from B cell-committed precursors (in view of the absence of CD24 expression). We demonstrate that these Lin(-)CD34(+)CD10(+)CD24(-) progenitors have a very low myeloid potential but can generate B, T, and natural killer lymphocytes and coexpress recombination activating gene 1, terminal deoxynucleotide transferase, PAX5, interleukin 7 receptor alpha, and CD3epsilon. These progenitors are present in the cord blood and in the BM but can also be found in the blood throughout life. Moreover, they belong to the most immature thymocyte population. Collectively, these findings unravel the existence of a postnatal lymphoid-polarized population that is capable of migrating from the BM to the thymus.
Six
Emmanuelle M
EM
Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM), U768, 75015 Paris, France.
Bonhomme
Delphine
D
Monteiro
Marta
M
Beldjord
Kheira
K
Jurkowska
Monika
M
Cordier-Garcia
Corinne
C
Garrigue
Alexandrine
A
Dal Cortivo
Liliane
L
Rocha
Benedita
B
Fischer
Alain
A
Cavazzana-Calvo
Marina
M
André-Schmutz
Isabelle
I
D018952:Antigens, CD34 / Q000096:biosynthesis; D001854:Bone Marrow Cells / Q000378:metabolism; D051927:CD24 Antigen / Q000096:biosynthesis; D017252:CD3 Complex / Q000096:biosynthesis; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D006801:Humans; D007963:Leukocytes, Mononuclear / Q000378:metabolism; D015260:Neprilysin / Q000096:biosynthesis; D010641:Phenotype; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism*; D013949:Thymus Extracts / Q000378:metabolism*; D013950:Thymus Gland / Q000378:metabolism*
D018952:Antigens, CD34; D051927:CD24 Antigen; D017252:CD3 Complex; D013949:Thymus Extracts; D015260:Neprilysin