Flow cytometric and immunocytochemical analyses of murine fetal thymus (FT) cells with antibodies to various surface markers and transcription factors reveal that the synthesis of TCF-1 and GATA-3 protein begins simultaneously in a fraction of the most immature population of FT cells, which have the phenotype of CD4-CD8-CD44+CD25-. No TCF-1-producing cells is found in the fetal liver (FL). In CD44+CD25- FT cells, the production of TCF-1 is immediately followed by intracellular expression of CD3 epsilon. It is also found that the T cell development from FL, but not FT, progenitors in the FT organ culture system is severely inhibited by the addition of antisense oligonucleotides for either TCF-1 or GATA-3. These results strongly suggest that TCF-1 and GATA-3 play essential roles in the initiation of the earliest steps of T cell development in the thymus.
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September 01 1996
Involvement of transcription factors TCF-1 and GATA-3 in the initiation of the earliest step of T cell development in the thymus.
N Hattori,
N Hattori
Department of Immunology, Kyoto University, Japan.
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H Kawamoto,
H Kawamoto
Department of Immunology, Kyoto University, Japan.
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S Fujimoto,
S Fujimoto
Department of Immunology, Kyoto University, Japan.
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K Kuno,
K Kuno
Department of Immunology, Kyoto University, Japan.
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Y Katsura
Y Katsura
Department of Immunology, Kyoto University, Japan.
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N Hattori
Department of Immunology, Kyoto University, Japan.
H Kawamoto
Department of Immunology, Kyoto University, Japan.
S Fujimoto
Department of Immunology, Kyoto University, Japan.
K Kuno
Department of Immunology, Kyoto University, Japan.
Y Katsura
Department of Immunology, Kyoto University, Japan.
Online ISSN: 1540-9538
Print ISSN: 0022-1007
J Exp Med (1996) 184 (3): 1137–1147.
Citation
N Hattori, H Kawamoto, S Fujimoto, K Kuno, Y Katsura; Involvement of transcription factors TCF-1 and GATA-3 in the initiation of the earliest step of T cell development in the thymus.. J Exp Med 1 September 1996; 184 (3): 1137–1147. doi: https://doi.org/10.1084/jem.184.3.1137
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