Nature Immunology4, 991 - 998 (2003)
Published online: 21 September 2003; | doi:10.1038/ni979
The inter-relatedness and interdependence of mouse T cell receptor + and + cells
Daniel J Pennington1, 4, Bruno Silva-Santos1, 4, John Shires1, 3, Efstathios Theodoridis1, Christopher Pollitt1, Emma L Wise1, Robert E Tigelaar2, Michael J Owen3
& Adrian C Hayday1
1
Peter Gorer Department of Immunobiology, Guy's King's Saint Thomas' Medical School, Guy's Hospital, London SE1 9RT, UK.
2
Department of Dermatology and Section of Immunobiology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06511, USA.
3
Present addresses: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, USA (J.S.) and GlaxoSmithKline, Medicines Research Centre, Gunnels Wood Road, Stevenage, Hertfordshire SG1 2NY, UK (M.J.O.).
Although T cell receptor (TCR)+ and TCR+ cells are commonly viewed as functionally independent, their relatedness and potential interdependence remain enigmatic. Here we have identified a gene profile that distinguishes mouse cell populations from conventional T cells. However, this profile was also expressed by sets of unconventional T cells. Therefore, whereas TCR specificity determines the involvement of a T cell in an immune response, the cell's functional potential, as assessed by gene expression, does not segregate with the TCR. By monitoring the described gene profile, we show that T cell development and function in TCR-deficient mice was impaired because of the absence of T cell progenitors. Thus, normal cell development is dependent on the development of conventional T cells.
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