The heterogeneity and functional capacities of human thymocyte subpopulations

Analysis of human thymocytes with monoclonal antibodies belonging to five distinct clusters of differentiation (CD1, CD3-CD5, CD8) revealed a high degree of phenotypic heterogeneity. Six subpopulations could be defined in the thymic compartment characterized by the presence of CD1 antigens (cortical type); four subpopulations could be defined in the compartment characterized by the lack of CD1 but by the presence of CD5 antigens (medullary type); two subpopulations could be defined in the compartment characterized by the lack of both CD1 and CD5 antigens. Thymic samples could be categorized as either high responder or low responder to phytohemagglutinin alone. The defect of low responders was, to a large extent, attributable to a lack of interleukin 2 availability in the medullary type compartment. Yet, cortical-type subpopulations, both from high and low responders, were able to respond to phytohemagglutinin alone to the same extent. Undesirable cell contamination was excluded by limiting dilution analysis. Moreover, cortical-type cells were found to be able to respond to concanavalin A alone, while medullary-type cells and total populations did not respond to concanavalin A alone. Thus, the human thymus includes a number of cell subpopulations involved in complex functional interactions.