Abstract
Null cells, lymphocytes which are both E rosette negative and surface Ig negative, express either human T lymphocyte antigens(HTLA antigens) or human B lymphocyte antigens (HBLA antigens). To determine if one or both of these null cell subsets contain T cell precursors, 5 separate null cell enriched suspensions (each containing fewer than 10% E rosette positive or surface Ig positive cells) were first treated with anti-HBLA or anti-HTLA antisera and complement, and then incubated with or without thymosin for 2 hours and tested for % E rosettes.
Thymosin induced an increase in % E rosettes (13±4%) in null cell suspensions depleted of HBLA+ cells by anti-HBLA + C' but did not induce an increase in % E rosettes (13±14%) in null cell suspensions depleted of HTLA+ cells by anti-HTLA + C'. This strongly suggests that some. If not all, HTLA+ null cells are precursors of mature E rosette-positive T cells.
(Supported by USPHS NIH Grant CA 17534 and Contract 1-CP-33333. J. Kaplan is recipient of NIH Research Career Development Award CA 00188).
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Kaplan, J. THYMOSIN RESPONSIVE NULL CELLS EXPRESS HUMAN T LYMPHOCYTE ANTIGENS. Pediatr Res 11, 488 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-197704000-00711
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-197704000-00711