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Thymic influence on the T-lymphocyte self MHC repertoire. II. Cytotoxic T-lymphocyte precursors
1Hematology/Oncology Division, Children's Hospital Research Foundation, Cincinnati, OH 45229.
We measured the frequency and specificity of thymic alloantigen-reactive cytotoxic T-lymphocyte precursors in spleens of allogeneic thymus-grafted nude mice tolerant to thymic alloantigens. Under our conditions of limiting dilution analysis we found no selective loss of cytotoxic T-lymphocyte precursors in allogeneic thymus-grafted mice. Upon analysis of individual cytotoxic T-lymphocyte clones, we found that lysis of specific and third party targets was mediated by distinct clones specific for H-2 antigens. Precursors from allogeneic thymus-grafted nudes stimulated at limiting dilutions with thymic alloantigens tended to lyse fewer targets than were lysed by normal cytotoxic T-lymphocytes or allogeneic thymus-grafted nude precursors stimulated with third party alloantigens, but the reduction in lytic activity was not statistically significant. Specific suppression was not demonstrated, but could not be ruled out unequivocally. We conclude that intrathymic deletion of thymic alloantigen-reactive pCTL is not necessary to achieve specific tolerance to thymic alloantigens.
We measured the frequency and specificity of thymic alloantigen-reactive cytotoxic T-lymphocyte precursors in spleens of allogeneic thymus-grafted nude mice tolerant to thymic alloantigens. Under our conditions of limiting dilution analysis we found no selective loss of cytotoxic T-lymphocyte precursors in allogeneic thymus-grafted mice. Upon analysis of individual cytotoxic T-lymphocyte clones, we found that lysis of specific and third party targets was mediated by distinct clones specific for H-2 antigens. Precursors from allogeneic thymus-grafted nudes stimulated at limiting dilutions with thymic alloantigens tended to lyse fewer targets than were lysed by normal cytotoxic T-lymphocytes or allogeneic thymus-grafted nude precursors stimulated with third party alloantigens, but the reduction in lytic activity was not statistically significant. Specific suppression was not demonstrated, but could not be ruled out unequivocally. We conclude that intrathymic deletion of thymic alloantigen-reactive pCTL is not necessary to achieve specific tolerance to thymic alloantigens.