The Journal of Experimental Medicine, Vol 140, 566-577,
Copyright © 1974 by The Rockefeller University Press
THE DIFFERENTIATION PATHWAY OF T LYMPHOCYTES
:
EVIDENCE FOR TWO DIFFERENTIATED CELL TYPES
Alex Matter 1
1 From the Institut d'Histologie et d'Embryologie, Ecole de Midecine, Geneva, Switzerland
Two experimental models have been used to study T-cell differentiation. The first, a graft-vs.-host reaction, was induced by injecting thymocytes or cortisone-resistant thymocytes into lethally irradiated allogeneic mice. The second was tumor graft rejection in allogeneic hosts. Ultrastructural studies at various time intervals revealed two differentiated T-cell types. One of these (the "pale" cell) is probably high cytotoxic as measured in the chromium-release assay, the other (the "dark" cell) may be an "amplifier" cell, helping in the differentiation of cytotoxic cells.
Submitted on April 2, 1974