Identification of a New Type of Invariant Vα14+ T Cells and Responsiveness to a Superantigen,Yersinia pseudotuberculosis- Derived Mitogen

Autor: Junji Yagi, Umberto Dianzani, Hidehito Kato, Toshihiro Okamoto, Tomoko Katsurada, Donatella Buonfiglio, Tohru Miyoshi-Akiyama, Takehiko Uchiyama
Rok vydání: 1999
Předmět:
Zdroj: The Journal of Immunology. 163:3083-3091
ISSN: 1550-6606
0022-1767
DOI: 10.4049/jimmunol.163.6.3083
Popis: We examined the expression of the H4 T cell activation marker in thymic T cell subpopulations and found that TCR-αβ+ CD4+ thymic T cells are segregated into three subpopulations based upon H4 levels. Thymic T cells with either no or low H4 expression differentiate via the mainstream differentiation pathway in the thymus. H4int thymic T cells, which express a skewed Vβ repertoire of Vβ2, -7, and -8 in their TCRs, show the phenotype of NKT cells: CD44high, Ly6Chigh, NK1.1+, and TCR-αβlow. H4high thymic T cells also show a skewed Vβ repertoire, Vβ2, -7, and -8, and predominantly express an invariant Vα14-Jα281+ α-chain in their TCRs but constitute a distinct population in that they are CD44int, Ly6C−, NK1.1−, and TCR-αβhigh. Thus, invariant Vα14+ thymic T cells consist of ordinary NKT cells and a new type of T cell population. Vβ7+ and Vβ8.1+ invariant Vα14+ thymic T cells are present in DBA/2 mice, which carry mammary tumor virus-7-encoded superantigens, in comparable levels to those in BALB/c mice. Furthermore, Vβ7+ invariant Vα14+ thymic T cells in DBA/2 mice are in the immunologically responsive state, and Yersinia pseudotuberculosis-derived mitogen-induced Vβ7+ invariant Vα14+ thymic T cell blasts from DBA/2 and BALB/c mice exhibited equally enhanced responses upon restimulation with Y. pseudotuberculosis-derived mitogen. Thus, invariant Vα14+ thymic T cells that escape negative selection in DBA/2 mice contain T cells as functionally mature as those in BALB/c mice.
Databáze: OpenAIRE