Clonal deletion of self-reactive T cells at the early stage of T cell development in thymus of radiation bone marrow chimeras (original) (raw)

Distinct fates of self-specific T cells developing in irradiation bone marrow chimeras: clonal deletion, clonal anergy, or in vitro responsiveness to self-Mls-1a controlled by hemopoietic cells in the thymus

Journal of Experimental Medicine, 1990

Elimination of potentially self-reactive T lymphocytes during their maturation in the thymus has been shown to be a major mechanism in accomplishing self-tolerance. Previous reports demonstrated that clonal deletion of self-Mls-l a -specific V,36+ T lymphocytes is controlled by a radiosensitive I-E+ thymic component. Irradiation chimeras reconstituted with I-E -bone marrow showed substantial numbers of mature V06+ T cells despite host MIS-1a expression. Analysis of the functional properties of such chimeric T cells revealed a surprising variability in their in vitro reactivity to host Mls-1a, depending on the H-2 haplotype of stem cells used for reconstitution. In chimeras reconstituted with B10.S (H-2') stem cells, mature Va6+ lymphocytes were present but functionally anergic to host-type Mls-1a in vitro. In contrast, in chimeras reconstituted with B10.G (H-29) bone marrow, nondeleted V)36+ cells were highly responsive to MIS-1a in vitro. These findings suggest that clonal anergy of V$6+ cells to self-Mls-1a may be controlled by the affinity/avidity of T cell receptor interactions with bone marrow-derived cells in the thymus depending on the major histocompatibility complex class II molecules involved . Furthermore, chimeras bearing host (Mls-la)-reactive V06+ cells did not differ clinically from those with anergic or deleted V06+ cells and survived more than one year without signs of autoimmune disease . Interestingly, their spleen cells had no Mls-1a stimulatory capacity in vitro. Therefore, regulation at the level of antigen presentation may be an alternative mechanism for maintenance of tolerance to certain self-antigens such as Mls-l a .

Deficiency in early development of the thymus-dependent cells in irradiation chimeras attributable to recipient's environment

The Journal of Immunology

Allogeneic bone marrow chimeras were prepared using reciprocal combinations of AKR and C3H mice. When C3H mice were recipients, the number of thymocytes recoverable from such chimeras (C3H recipient chimeras) was small as compared with that from chimeras for which AKR mice were used as recipients (AKR recipient chimeras) regardless of donor strain. The thymocytes from C3H recipient chimeras showed a profound deficiency in generating proliferative responses to stimulation by anti-CD3 mAb (2C11) or anti-TCR (alpha, beta) mAb (H57-597), even though the expression of CD3 and TCR molecules fell within the same range as that in AKR recipient chimeras. Furthermore, after stimulation with immobilized 2C11, the proportion of IL-2R+ cells in the thymocytes from C3H recipient chimeras was much less than that in AKR recipient chimeras. However, no significant difference in proliferative responses to 2C11 plus PMA, in influx of Ca2+ after stimulation with 2C11 or IL-2 production in response to 2...

Bone marrow-derived thymic antigen-presenting cells determine self-recognition of Ia-restricted T lymphocytes

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 1985

We previously have demonstrated that in radiation-induced bone marrow chimeras, T-cell self-Ia restriction specificity appeared to correlate with the phenotype of the bone marrow-derived antigen-presenting (or dendritic) cell in the thymus during T-cell development. However, these correlations were necessarily indirect because of the difficulty in assaying thymic function directly by adult thymus transplant, which has in the past been uniformly unsuccessful. We now report success in obtaining functional T cells from nude mice grafted with adult thymuses reduced in size by treatment of the thymus donor with anti-thymocyte globulin and cortisone. When (B10 Scn x B1O.D2)Fj nude mice (I Abd) are given

Differentiation of hematopoietic stem cells in irradiated mouse thymic lobes. Kinetics and phenotype of progeny

The Journal of Immunology

To define cell populations which participate in the very early stages of T cell development in the mouse thymus, we enriched hematopoietic stem cells from mouse bone marrow and injected them into thymic lobes of irradiated Ly-5 congenic recipients. The progeny of the stem cells were identified and their phenotypes were determined by two-color flow cytometry for the expression of various cell surface differentiation Ag during the course of their subsequent intrathymic development. The majority of the differentiation which occurred in the first 10 days after intrathymic cell transfer was myeloid in nature; hence, this study demonstrates that the irradiated thymus is not strictly selective for T cell development. Further, the maximum rate of T cell development was observed after intrathymic injection of 200 stem cells. Donor-derived cells which did not express Ag characteristic of the myeloid lineage could be detected and their phenotypes could be determined by flow cytometry as early ...

Quantitative Impact of Thymic Clonal Deletion on the T Cell Repertoire

Journal of Experimental Medicine, 1997

Interactions between major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules expressed on stromal cells and antigen-specific receptors on T cells shape the repertoire of mature T lymphocytes emerging from the thymus. Some thymocytes with appropriate receptors are stimulated to undergo differentiation to the fully mature state (positive selection), whereas others with strongly autoreactive receptors are triggered to undergo programmed cell death before completing this differentiation process (negative selection). The quantitative impact of negative selection on the potentially available repertoire is currently unknown. To address this issue, we have constructed radiation bone marrow chimeras in which MHC molecules are present on radioresistant thymic epithelial cells (to allow positive selection) but absent from radiosensitive hematopoietic elements responsible for negative selection. In such chimeras, the number of mature thymocytes was increased by twofold as compared with appropriate control chimeras. This increase in steady-state numbers of mature thymocytes was not related to proliferation, increased retention, or recirculation and was accompanied by a similar two-to threefold increase in the de novo rate of generation of mature cells. Taken together, our data indicate that half to two-thirds of the thymocytes able to undergo positive selection die before full maturation due to negative selection.

Characterization of thymus-seeding precursor cells from mouse bone marrow

The nature of the cells that seed the thymus of an irradiated recipient after intravenous (IV) transfer of bone marrow (BM) cells was investigated using 2 approaches. First, direct entry of a small number of donor BM cells into the thymus was tracked using a Ly-5 marker. Second, secondary IV transfer of the seeded thymus cells into a secondary recipient was used as an assay for precursor activity. A range of cell types was found to enter the recipient thymus initially, including Blineage cells and myeloid cells, but T precursors were undetectable by flow cy-tometry over the first few days. Although all cells initially entering the thymus proliferated, no sustained thymus reconstitution was seen until day 4, when recognizable T-lineage precursors began to appear. The secondary transfer assays revealed the presence of lymphoid precursors in the recipient thymus, including T, NKT, NK, and B precursor activity, with a notable early burst of B-lineage generative capacity. There was no evidence of sustained myeloid precursor or multipotent stem cell activity, even though these were seen if BM cells were injected di-rectly into the recipient thymus rather than introduced into the bloodstream. It is concluded that even though many cell types may initially enter an irradiated thymus, the thymus acts as a sieve, allowing lymphoid precursors, but not multipotent stem cells, to seed the environmental niches that permit selected precursor cell development and thymus reconstitution. (Blood. 2001;98:696-704)

Postnatal disappearance of self-reactive (V beta 6+) cells from the thymus of Mlsa mice. Implications for T cell development and autoimmunity

Journal of Experimental Medicine, 1989

The postnatal ontogeny of potentially autoreactive T cells has been studied in a model system where a particular TCR beta chain variable domain (V beta 6) is correlated with reactivity to a minor antigen encoded by the Mlsa locus. Although absent among mature (CD4+ or CD8+) T cells in adult mice expressing Mlsa, brightly staining V beta 6+ cells were readily detectable in the thymus of neonatal animals, reaching a maximum after 4 d and decreasing rapidly thereafter. These V beta 6+ thymocytes were predominantly of the CD4+ phenotype and were localized in the medulla of the developing thymus. Furthermore, the intensity of TCR expression by these CD4+ cells was significantly (twofold) reduced as compared with age-matched Mlsb controls. A rapid disappearance of CD4+V beta 6+ cells (and corresponding decrease in TCR density) could also be observed in the thymus of Mlsb mice that had been injected neonatally with Mlsa spleen cells. Taken together, these results raise the possibility that...

Clonal deletion of self-reactive T cells in irradiation bone marrow chimeras and neonatally tolerant mice. Evidence for intercellular transfer of Mlsa

Journal of Experimental Medicine, 1989

Tolerance to Mlsa has been shown to be associated with clonal deletion of cells carrying TCR beta chain variable regions V beta 6 or V beta 8.1 in mice possessing I-E antigens. To evaluate the rules of tolerance induction to Mlsa we prepared irradiation bone marrow chimeras expressing Mlsa or Mlsb and I-E by different cell types. Deletion of V beta 6+, Mlsa-reactive T cells required the presence of Mlsa and I-E products either on bone marrow-derived cells or on irradiated recipient cells. Tolerance was induced when Mlsa and I-E were expressed by distinct cells of the chimera. Also neonatally tolerized mice exhibited depletion of V beta 6+ cells after injection of I-E- Mlsa spleen cells (DBA/1) into newborn I-E+ Mlsb mice (BALB/c x B10.G)F1. These results suggest that the product of the Mlsa locus is soluble and/or may be transferred from cell to cell and bound to I-E antigens. The chimera experiments also showed that tolerance to Mlsa is H-2 allele independent, i.e., is apparently u...

Auto-reconstitution of the T-cell compartment by radioresistant hematopoietic cells following lethal irradiation and bone marrow transplantation

Experimental Hematology, 2010

Objective. In lethally irradiated bone marrow chimeras, part of the reconstituted T-cell compartment is derived from the irradiated host, but the detailed origin and functional activity of host-derived T cells has not been thoroughly analyzed. Herein, we determine the origin and function of radioresistant host-derived T cells. Materials and Methods. Lethally irradiated thymectomized or nonthymectomized C57BL/6 host mice were reconstituted with syngeneic bone marrow, itself incapable of generating T cells. Using fetal thymic organ cultures, bulk and limiting dilution assays on OP9-DL1 stromal cells, unambiguous cohorts of thymus-derived and peripheral T-cellLderived T cells were phenotypically characterized by flow cytometry and functionally characterized by their ability to participate in a T-cellLdependent antibody response.