Altered CD45 isoform expression affects lymphocyte function in CD45 Tg mice

Transgenic mice have been constructed expressing high (CD45RABC) and low (CD45R0) molecular weight CD45 isoforms on a CD45-/- background. Phenotypic analysis and in vivo challenge of these mice with influenza and lymphocytic choriomeningitis viruses shows that T cell differentiation and peripheral T cell function are related to the level of CD45 expression but not to which CD45 isoform is expressed. In contrast, B cell differentiation is not restored, irrespective of the level of expression of a single isoform. All CD45 trangenic mice have T cells with an activated phenotype and increased T cell turnover. These effects are more prominent in CD8 than CD4 cells. The transgenic mice share several properties with humans expressing variant CD45 alleles and provide a model to understand immune function in variant individuals.