Thymocyte expansion and maturation: crosstalk of CD44v6 on thymocytes and panCD44 on stroma cells

Re-acquisition of immunocompetence after allogeneic bone marrow cell (BMC) transplantation depends on intrathymic maturation of the allogeneic T progenitor cells. We recently reported that CD44 promotes progenitor homing into the thymus and T-cell maturation and now elucidate the molecular mechanisms of CD44-supported thymocyte maturation. Lethally irradiated, tumor-bearing mice, allogeneically reconstituted with T-cell-depleted BMC and a small number of common lymphoid progenitor 2 cells (CLP2) from transgenic (TG) mice, that express ratCD44v4-v7 under the Thy1 promoter, showed accelerated immunocompetent T-cell recovery compared with mice reconstituted with non-transgenic (NTG) CLP2. In addition, graft-versus-host disease was strongly reduced after tumor vaccination. TG, but not NTG double-negative (DN) thymocytes showed high proliferative potential, accompanied by constitutive association of lck with CD44. Importantly, when thymocyte adhesion was strengthened by anti-CD44, co-cultures of DN thymocytes with thymic stroma supported DN thymocyte maturation. The close contact between DN thymocytes and thymic stroma promoted persisting activation of lck and ERK1/2, particularly in CD44v6(+) DN thymocytes. Thus, intrathymic T-cell maturation in allogeneically reconstituted, leukemia-bearing hosts can be considerably accelerated by high CD44v6 expression in early thymocytes, in which proliferation-supporting signals are initiated by a crosstalk between CD44v6 on thymocytes and panCD44 on the thymic stroma.