Retroviral Gene Transduction into T Cell Progenitors for Analysis of T Cell Development in the Thymus

The thymus is an organ where T cells develop throughout life. Using mice as a model animal, molecular mechanisms of intrathymic T cell development have been studied. Fetal thymus organ culture technique enables ex vivo reconstitution of fetal-specific T cell development, while bone marrow chimera technique allows in vivo reconstitution of T cell development in adult thymus. These techniques can be combined with retroviral gene transduction into the T cell progenitors to evaluate the function of genes of interest in developing T cells. Here, we describe the basic protocols for retrovirus gene transduction into fetal or adult T cell progenitors and reconstitution of thymic T cell development including experimental tips such as using cryopreserved fetal liver or bone marrow cells as sources of T cell progenitors.