T-cell development in T cell receptor alphabeta transgenic mice

The introduction of rearranged T cell receptor alpha and beta chain genes into transgenic mice results in a high frequency of expression of the introduced receptor on T cells. In three different systems, analyses of mice expressing transgenic T cell receptors specific for antigen plus MHC class I or class II molecules have demonstrated several important features of T cell development: (1) T cell receptor specificity for MHC class I or class II molecules determines the expression of CD8 versus CD4, respectively, on mature T cells; (2) T cell maturation in the thymus is dependent on expression of an MHC molecule recognized by the T cell receptor; (3)for class II specific receptors, appropriate MHC expression on thymic epithelial cells is sufficient to achieve positive selection of T cells; and (4) self-reactive T cells die or are killed in the thymus.