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The linkage between T-cell and dendritic cell development in the mouse thymus
K Shortman1, D Vremec, L M Corcoran
1Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Immunological Reviews
|December 16, 1998
Summary
Thymic dendritic cells (DC) and T cells originate from a shared early precursor in the thymus. This finding suggests thymic DC are lymphoid-related, not myeloid, and develop independently of mature T cells.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Developmental Biology
- Cell Biology
Background:
- Thymic dendritic cells (DC) play a crucial role in T-cell negative selection.
- The developmental origins of thymic DC and T-lineage cells are not fully understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between thymic dendritic cell development and T-cell development.
- To determine the lineage relationship of thymic dendritic cells.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of T-lineage precursor populations from adult mouse thymus.
- In vitro culture of precursor cells.
- Examination of mutant mice lacking mature T cells or functional Ikaros transcription factors.
Main Results:
- A common precursor for T cells and dendritic cells (DC) exists at an early stage of thymocyte development.
- These lymphoid/DC precursors efficiently generate DC in culture and are lymphoid-related, not myeloid-related.
- Thymic DC development occurs independently of mature T cells but is impaired in mice lacking Ikaros transcription factors.
Conclusions:
- Thymic dendritic cells arise from a common lymphoid progenitor shared with T cells.
- This indicates thymic DC are a lymphoid-related lineage.
- The development of these precursors is dependent on Ikaros transcription factors.