title: Assessment of T Cell Development by Flow Cytometry.
abstract: T cell development is a complex multistep process that requires the coordinated activation of distinct signaling responses and the regulated progression of developing cells (thymocytes) through key stages of maturation. Although sophisticated techniques such as fetal thymus organ culture, in vitro thymocyte culture, and multi-parameter flow cytometric analysis are now widely employed to evaluate thymocyte maturation by experienced laboratories, defects in T cell development can usually be identified with more simplified screening methods. Here, we provide a basic protocol for assessment of T cell development that will enable laboratories with access to a four parameter flow cytometer to screen mouse strains, including those generated from embryonic stem cells with targeted gene mutations, for thymocyte maturation defects.
authors: Section for Cellular and Developmental Biology, Program on Genomics of Differentiation, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA.
authors: Jan Y M
authors: JY
authors: Lee
authors: Paul E
authors: PE
authors: Love
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015415:Biomarkers; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D005434:Flow Cytometry / Q000379:methods; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D016130:Immunophenotyping / Q000379:methods; D051379:Mice; D016176:T-Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers