Abstract
Although T cell receptor (TCR)γδ+ and TCRαβ+ cells are commonly viewed as functionally independent, their relatedness and potential interdependence remain enigmatic. Here we have identified a gene profile that distinguishes mouse γδ cell populations from conventional αβ T cells. However, this profile was also expressed by sets of unconventional αβ 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 γδ T cell development and function in TCRβ-deficient mice was impaired because of the absence of αβ T cell progenitors. Thus, normal γδ cell development is dependent on the development of conventional αβ T cells.
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Acknowledgements
We thank M. Hubank, J. Dunne, G. Clark, W. Turnbull, D. Davies, A. Eddaoudi, C. Simpson, G. Barnes, C. Trigueros, J. Lewis, A. Denzel, S. Clarke, D. Oppenheim, V. Giuggio and S. Creighton for help; G. Schutz for ICER-lacZ mice; G. LeClercq for anti-Ly49E; and R. Ahmed for RNA from LCMV-specific T cells. We acknowledge a Wellcome Trust Programme Grant (A.C.H.) and the Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (Portugal) through the Gulbenkian PhD Programme (B.S.-S.).
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Pennington, D., Silva-Santos, B., Shires, J. et al. The inter-relatedness and interdependence of mouse T cell receptor γδ+ and αβ+ cells. Nat Immunol 4, 991–998 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1038/ni979
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ni979
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