Induction of CD8 molecules on thymic γ/δ T cells in vitro is dependent upon α/β T cells

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Abstract
Thymocytes differentiate upon interactions with microenvironmental components, but the precise role of different stromal cells, or other T cells, in early differentiative events remains unclear. Here we have analyzed the in vitro differentiation of double‐negative (DN) thymocytes from young adult mice. We demonstrate that a substantial proportion of DN thymocytes differentiate into CD8+ γ/δ T cells upon stimulation with concanavalin A and recombinant interleukin 2. However, if α/β T cells are excluded from the initial population of DN thymocytes, the CD8+ γ/δ T cells do not appear in the cultures. These results suggest a role for T‐T cell interactions in thymic differentiative events, and provide evidence for physiological interactions between the α/β and γ/δ T cell compartments within the thymus.