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Brief Definitive Report |
ß T Cell Receptors with Distinct Ligand Specificities Do Not Require Those Ligands to Signal Double Negative Thymocyte Differentiation
Address correspondence to Alfred Singer, Experimental Immunology Branch, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Building 10, Room 4B36, Bethesda, MD 20892. Phone: (301) 496-5461; Fax: (301) 496-0887; email: SingerA{at}nih.gov
During T cell development in the thymus, pre–T cell receptor (TCR) complexes signal CD4– CD8– (double negative [DN]) thymocytes to differentiate into CD4+ CD8+ (double positive [DP]) thymocytes, and they generate such signals without apparent ligand engagements. Although ligand-independent signaling is unusual and might be unique to the pre-TCR, it is possible that other TCR complexes such as
ß TCR or 
TCR might also be able to signal the DN to DP transition in the absence of ligand engagement if they were expressed on DN thymocytes. Although TCR complexes efficiently signal DN thymocyte differentiation, it is not yet certain if ß TCR complexes are also capable of signaling DN thymocyte differentiation, nor is it certain if such signaling is dependent upon ligand engagement. This study has addressed these questions by expressing defined ß TCR transgenes in recombination activating gene 2–/– pre-T–/– double deficient mice. In such double deficient mice, the only antigen receptors that can be expressed are those encoded by the ß TCR transgenes. In this way, this study definitively demonstrates that ß TCR can in fact signal the DN to DP transition. In addition, this study demonstrates that transgenic ß TCRs signal the DN to DP transition even in the absence of their specific MHC–peptide ligands.
Key Words: DN to DP transition • ß TCR transgene • ligand-independent signaling • pre-TCR/ TCR
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