A novel CD45RA+CD4+ transient thymic subpopulation in MRL-lpr/lpr mice: its relation to non-proliferating CD4−CD8−CD45RA+ tumor cells
- 1 January 1993
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Oxford University Press (OUP) in International Immunology
- Vol. 5 (1) , 89-96
- https://doi.org/10.1093/intimm/5.1.89
Abstract
MRL-lpr/lpr mice have hypertrophied lymph nodes comprising CD4−CD8− T cells. In addition, they contain CD4+CD8− T cells co-expressing the CD45RA marker. The correlation between these two subpopulations has been difficult to assess. We analyzed the expression of CD45RA (with the RA3-2C2 antibody) In various thymic and peripheral T cell subsets, using three-color immunofluorescence. We showed that in lpr mice (i) a translent CD4+CD8− thymic subset co-expresses CD45RA during the course of the disease, and (ii) thymic as well as peripheral CD4−CD8− and CD4+CD8− T cells brightly express CD45RA; furthermore (iii) in the lymph nodes, during lymphadenopathy, CD4+CD8−CD45RA+ T cells show a broad range of the CD4 fluorescence intensity, and (iv) the increase in MHC class II expression is restricted to CD45RA− T cells of the thymus and lymph nodes of lpr mice. Taken together, these data suggest that the CD4+CD8−CD45RA+ population might generate the CD4−CD8− tumor cells. In addition, using the bromodeoxyuridine labeling technique, we demonstrate that these cells are not the result of increased proliferation.Keywords
This publication has 0 references indexed in Scilit: