In vitro differentiation from a pluripotent human CD4+CD8+ thymic cloned cell into four phenotypically distinct subsets.

摘要: Human thymic cell differentiation is almost totally unknown. In the present study we developed an in vitro system using human cloned cells to analyze precursor-progeny relationship. We obtained several CD4+CD8+ double positive clones that could give rise after weeks culture only either CD4 or CD8 single clones. By contrast isolated a unique pluripotent clone, termed B12, which differentiated into four phenotypically distinct T clones, namely double-positive CD4+CD8+, double-negative CD4-CD8- single-positive phenotype. derived stable subclones representative of each phenotype and showed by molecular analysis they expressed same TCR. Utilization CD3 anticlonotypic mAb revealed this TCR was functional.