title: Generation, isolation, and engraftment of in vitro-derived human T cell progenitors.
abstract: T cells typically differentiate via a series of coordinated steps within the highly specialized microenvironment of the thymus. Traditionally, human T-lymphopoiesis in vitro has been studied using the hybrid human/mouse fetal thymic organ culture system. Pioneering work by McCune et al. devised a method to examine human T cell development in vivo in relation to HIV-1 using the SCID/hu (thy/liv) model. This was followed by models that better reflected the ability of human hematopoietic cells to home and differentiate within the mouse host without human fetal tissues; however, human T cell development in these animals was poor. In this chapter, we outline a procedure to generate human progenitor T (proT) cells in vitro from umbilical cord blood-derived hematopoietic stem cells using the OP9-DL1 cell system; in addition, we describe the method used to examine the engraftment of in vitro-derived proT cells into immunodeficient mouse strains.
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: Génève
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Awong
authors.forename: Juan Carlos
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Zúñiga-Pflücker
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002460:Cell Line; D002469:Cell Separation / Q000379:methods*; D018920:Coculture Techniques; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008099:Liver / Q000166:cytology; D054503:Lymphoid Progenitor Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000637:transplantation*; D051379:Mice; D033581:Stem Cell Transplantation / Q000379:methods*; D017154:Stromal Cells / Q000166:cytology; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000166:cytology*; D014470:Umbilical Cord / Q000166:cytology