The Journal of Immunology, Vol 133, Issue 5 2375-2380, Copyright © 1984 by American Association of Immunologists
Peripheral (somatic) expansion of the murine cytotoxic T lymphocyte repertoire. I. Analysis of diversity in recognition repertoire of alloreactive T cells derived from the thymus and spleen of adult or aged DBA/2J mice
MP Chang and RM Gorczynski
Cytotoxic T lymphocyte precursors (CTLp) in the spleen or thymus of
individual adult (8 to 10 wk) or aged (greater than 20 mo) DBA/2J mice have
been activated by irradiated H-2Kb antigens under limiting dilution
conditions such that cytotoxic cells in responder wells result from
stimulation of a single CTLp. After division into several equal samples and
expansion in the presence of IL 2 and more irradiated H-2Kb stimulators,
the contents of replicate individual wells were tested for their ability to
lyse a panel of selected H-2Kb mutant targets. The heterogeneity within a
given age group, and the similarity of CTLp repertoires between different
age groups were then compared for splenic and thymic CTLp repertoires. Our
data indicate a far greater mouse-to- mouse variation for the splenic CTLp
repertoire of aged mice compared with young mice, despite the greater
heterogeneity of the repertoire in the latter case. Less difference was
seen for the thymic CTLp repertoire. When we studied the correlation
between the repertoires present in the thymus and spleen within a given age
group, it seemed that the most striking difference in aged mice was a loss
of systematic expansion of the early appearing thymic CTLp repertoire.
These findings are discussed in terms of a two-stage model of T cell
differentiation.
