Cellular differentiation is a complex process involving integrated signals for lineage specification, proliferation, endowment of functional capacity, and survival or cell death. During embryogenesis, spatially discrete environments regulating these processes are established during the growth of tissue mass, a process that also results in temporal separation of developmental events. In tissues that undergo steady-state postnatal differentiation, another means for inducing spatial and temporal separation of developmental cues must be established. Here we show that in the postnatal thymus, this is achieved by inducing blood-borne precursors to enter the organ in a narrow region of the perimedullary cortex, followed by outward migration across the cortex before accumulation in the subcapsular zone. Notably, blood precursors do not transmigrate the cortex in an undifferentiated state, but rather undergo progressive developmental changes during this process, such that defined precursor stages appear in distinct cortical regions. Identification of these cortical regions, together with existing knowledge regarding the genetic potential of the corresponding lymphoid precursors, sets operational boundaries for stromal environments that are likely to induce these differentiative events. We conclude that active cell migration between morphologically similar but functionally distinct stromal regions is an integral component regulating differentiation and homeostasis in the steady-state thymus.
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16 July 2001
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July 09 2001
Mapping Precursor Movement through the Postnatal Thymus Reveals Specific Microenvironments Supporting Defined Stages of Early Lymphoid Development
Evan F. Lind,
Evan F. Lind
aMemorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY 10021
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Susan E. Prockop,
Susan E. Prockop
aMemorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY 10021
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Helen E. Porritt,
Helen E. Porritt
aMemorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY 10021
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Howard T. Petrie
Howard T. Petrie
aMemorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY 10021
bJoan and Sanford Weill Graduate School of Medical Sciences of Cornell University, New York, NY 10021
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Evan F. Lind
aMemorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY 10021
Susan E. Prockop
aMemorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY 10021
Helen E. Porritt
aMemorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY 10021
Howard T. Petrie
aMemorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY 10021
bJoan and Sanford Weill Graduate School of Medical Sciences of Cornell University, New York, NY 10021
Abbreviations used in this paper: CMJ, cortical and medullary junction; DN, double negative; DP, double positive; SCZ, subcapsular zone.
Received:
April 20 2001
Revision Requested:
May 25 2001
Accepted:
June 05 2001
Online ISSN: 1540-9538
Print ISSN: 0022-1007
© 2001 The Rockefeller University Press
2001
The Rockefeller University Press
J Exp Med (2001) 194 (2): 127–134.
Article history
Received:
April 20 2001
Revision Requested:
May 25 2001
Accepted:
June 05 2001
Citation
Evan F. Lind, Susan E. Prockop, Helen E. Porritt, Howard T. Petrie; Mapping Precursor Movement through the Postnatal Thymus Reveals Specific Microenvironments Supporting Defined Stages of Early Lymphoid Development. J Exp Med 16 July 2001; 194 (2): 127–134. doi: https://doi.org/10.1084/jem.194.2.127
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