Thymic depletion and peripheral activation of class I major histocompatibility complex-restricted T cells by soluble

C Mamalaki1, T Norton, Y Tanaka

  • 1Laboratory of Molecular Immunology, National Institute for Medical Research, Mill Hill, London, United Kingdom.

Injection of mice transgenic for a class I major histocompatibility complex-restricted T-cell receptor with a soluble peptide antigen from influenza virus nucleoprotein results in clonal depletion of double-positive immature thymocytes in the thymus and activation of mature T cells in the periphery, accompanied by a transient up-regulation of the T-cell receptor and CD3 and CD8 coreceptor molecules.