Abstract
THE skin of mice contains dendritic epidermal cells carrying the Thy-1 antigen (Thy-1+ dEC) which express antigen receptors composed of the T-cell antigen receptor (TCR) γ- and δ-chains1–5. Although the role of the thymus in the generation of most T cells is well established6, the involvement of the thymus in the generation of Thy-1+ dEC is not clear. Because bone marrow cells can give rise to Thy-1+ dEC in chimaeric mice7 and Thy-1+ dEC are detected in the skin of athymic nude nice8, it has been proposed that Thy-1+ dEC arise continuously from bone marrow precursors by a thymus-independent mechanism9. But it has recently been determined that Thy-1+ dEC in nude mice do not express TCR at the cell surface, and that the γ- and δ-chain genes are in germ-line configuration10, leaving the role of the thymus in the generation of Thy-1+ dEC uncertain. Most Thy-1+ dEC in all normal mouse strains examined express TCR containing the Vγ3 gene product11. This V gene segment is expressed on the first wave of TCR-expressing cells to emerge during fetal development, and in adult mice is detectable only on cells in the epidermis12. In addition to use of this 'fetal' Vγ segment1,2,13,14, other features of the Thy-1+ dEC TCR genes, including absence or minimal presence of non-germ-line-encoded nucleotides at the junctions and use of a single D element in the rearranged δ-chain gene15,16 are typical of rearrangements found in fetal, and not adult, thymus17,18. Here we demonstrate that precursors that are present only in the fetal thymus give rise to Thy-1+ dEC in the skin of adult mice.
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References
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Havran, W., Allison, J. Origin of Thy-1+ dendritic epidermal cells of adult mice from fetal thymic precursors. Nature 344, 68–70 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1038/344068a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/344068a0
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