The Journal of Experimental Medicine
ELISpot, FluoroSpot and ELISA kits from Mabtech
  Home | Help | Feedback | Subscriptions | Archive | Search | Table of Contents
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF, 195K)
Right arrow PPT slides of all figures
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new content in the JEM
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via CrossRef
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Tough, D. F.
Right arrow Articles by Sprent, J.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Tough, D. F.
Right arrow Articles by Sprent, J.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Complore   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Facebook   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati   Add to Twitter  
What's this?
© The Rockefeller University Press, 0022-1007/1998/2/357/ $5.00
The Journal of Experimental Medicine, Volume 187, Number 3, February 2, 1998 357-365

Articles

Lifespan of {gamma}/{delta} T Cells

David F. Tough and Jonathan Sprent

From the Department of Immunology, IMM4, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California 92037

Information on the turnover and lifespan of murine {gamma}/{delta} cells was obtained by administering the DNA precursor, bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU), in the drinking water and staining lymphoid cells for BrdU incorporation. For TCR-{gamma}/{delta} (V{gamma}2) transgenic mice, nearly all {gamma}/{delta} thymocytes became BrdU+ within 2 d and were released rapidly into the peripheral lymphoid tissues. These recent thymic emigrants (RTEs) underwent phenotypic maturation in the periphery for several days, but most of these cells died within 4 wk. In adult thymectomized (ATx) transgenic mice, only a small proportion of {gamma}/{delta} cells survived as long-lived cells; most of these cells had a slow turnover and retained a naive phenotype. As in transgenic mice, the majority of RTEs generated in normal mice (C57BL/6) appeared to have a restricted lifespan as naive cells. However, in marked contrast to TCR transgenic mice, most of the {gamma}/{delta} cells surviving in ATx normal mice had a rapid turnover and displayed an activated/memory phenotype, implying a chronic response to environmental antigens. Hence, in normal mice many {gamma}/{delta} RTEs did not die but switched to memory cells.

Address correspondence to Jonathan Sprent, Department of Immunology, IMM4, The Scripps Research Institute, 10550 North Torrey Pines Rd., La Jolla, CA 92037. Phone: 619-784-8619; Fax: 619-784-8839; E-mail: jsprent{at}scripps.edu

David F. Tough's present address is The Edward Jenner Institute for Vaccine Research, Compton, Newbury, Berkshire RG20 7NN, UK.

This is publication no. 10957-IMM from the Scripps Research Institute.

1 Abbreviations used in this paper: β2m, β-2-microglobulin; ATx, adult thymectomized; BrdU, Bromodeoxyuridine; HSA, heat-stable antigen; RTE, recent thymic emigrants; STx, sham thymectomized.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Complore Complore   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Facebook Facebook   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati   Add to Twitter Twitter    What's this?




  Home | Help | Feedback | Subscriptions | Archive | Search
TABLE OF CONTENTS