Disruption of thymopoiesis in ST6Gal I-deficient mice.
Thymocyte development is accompanied by sequential changes in cell surface glycosylation. For example, medullary thymocytes have increased levels of alpha2,3-linked sialic acid and a loss of asialo core 1 O-glycans as compared to cortical thymocytes. Some of these changes have been linked to fine tuning of the T cell receptor avidity. We analyzed ST6Gal I transcript abundance and levels of alpha2,6-linked sialic acid across thymocyte subsets. We found that ST6Gal I transcript levels increased following T cell receptor beta-selection suggesting that this sialyltransferase may influence the development of early thymocyte populations. Indeed, low levels of alpha2,6-linked sialic acid were found in the earliest T lineage cells, and then increased in T cell receptor beta-selected cells. To determine whether ST6Gal I influences T cell development, we analyzed ST6Gal I-deficient mice for disruptions in thymocyte populations. We found reduced thymic cellularity in the ST6Gal I-deficient mice starting in the early thymocyte compartments.
Department of Surgery, University of Oklahoma College of Medicine, Tulsa, OK 74135, USA.
Julie H
JH
Marino
Chibing
C
Tan
Brenda
B
Davis
Eun-Soo
ES
Han
Morgan
M
Hickey
Rebecca
R
Naukam
Ashlee
A
Taylor
Kenton S
KS
Miller
C Justin
CJ
Van De Wiele
T Kent
TK
Teague
D000818:Animals; D002452:Cell Count; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; D009844:Oligosaccharides / Q000378:metabolism; D012799:Sialyltransferases / Q000235:genetics*; D013950:Thymus Gland / Q000166:cytology* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D000094802:beta-D-Galactoside alpha 2-6-Sialyltransferase
D009844:Oligosaccharides; C016735:sialooligosaccharides; D012799:Sialyltransferases; D000094802:beta-D-Galactoside alpha 2-6-Sialyltransferase