The Journal of Immunology, 1998, 161: 3325-3329.
Copyright © 1998 by The American Association of Immunologists
CD16 Cross-Linking Blocks Rearrangement of the TCRß Locus and Development of
ß T Cells and Induces Development of NK Cells from Thymic Progenitors
Scott K. Durum1,*,
Chong-Kil Lee*,
Theresa M. Geiman
,
William J. Murphy
and
Kathrin Muegge
*
Laboratory of Immunoregulation, Division of Basic Sciences, National Cancer Institute, and
Science Applications International Corporation, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, MD 21702
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Abstract
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Mouse thymocytes normally develop into T lymphocytes, but the
embryonic thymus also contains precursor cells capable of developing
into NK cells. Here, we describe conditions that induce pro-T cells to
develop into NK cells. CD16 is expressed on thymic pro-T cells. We
observed that CD16 cross-linking during culture of embryonic thymic
organs suppressed rearrangement of the TCRß locus (but did not
inhibit TCR
locus rearrangement). Rearrangement of the TCRß locus
is normally required for development to the
CD4+CD8+, and this development was also
suppressed by CD16 cross-linking. The ability of CD16 cross-linking to
block
ßT cell development was not attributable to toxic effects,
but rather was accompanied by promotion of development into NK cells,
identified based on molecular and functional criteria. These results
suggest that common lymphoid precursors can respond to environmental
signals to commit to the
ßT vs NK developmental
pathways.
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Introduction
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Tcell
precursors are initially produced outside the thymus in hemopoietic
tissues, including the yolk sac and fetal liver of the embryo and later
in the bone marrow of the adult. Very small numbers of these precursors
(<100; see 1 arrive in the thymus and begin a complex process
involving gene rearrangements, proliferation, differentiation, and
negative and positive selection (for reviews see 2 . The early
intrathymic precursors have been extensively characterized in terms of
surface phenotype; however, a number of questions remain regarding
their degree of commitment to the T cell lineage (reviewed in 3 .
T lymphocytes and NK cells share a number of similarities in surface
markers, and it has been suggested that they might develop from
a common precursor (reviewed in 4 . Evidence consistent with a
common precursor comes from knockout of the Ikaros transcription factor
(5), the common cytokine receptor
c chain (6), Jak3 (7),
or overexpression of CD3
(8), any of which results in a deficiency
of both T lymphocytes and NK cells (as well as B lymphocytes in the
first two examples). Most NK cells are produced in the bone marrow,
whereas only a small proportion of mature NK cells have been reported
in the murine thymus (9). However, the murine embryonic thymus at day
14 (d14)2 of gestation has
previously been shown to contain cells that can develop into NK cells
if injected i.v. (10). These intrathymic NK precursors share many
phenotypic markers with T cell precursors, but whether they are
identical has not been established. As indicated (3, 11), it remains to
be determined whether individual murine thymocytes have a dual
capacity, the ability to become either T or NK, or whether the
population of early thymocytes contains two committed cell types.
Single progenitor cells from the human thymus have been used to
generate colonies, some of which have dual potential, although the
frequency of dual-potential cells could not be determined (12).
In the course of examining various stimuli that influence the
association of thymocytes with extracellular matrix (13) and promote
gene rearrangements (14), we noted functional effects of anti-CD16
Abs. CD16, the low affinity FcR, is expressed on embryonic thymocytes
at d14 of gestation (15) and has not previously been ascribed a
functional activity in these cells. Under certain culture conditions
(discussed below), we observed that treatment with anti-CD16
blocked rearrangement of the TCRß locus and also blocked T cell
development, whereas NK cell development was promoted by anti-CD16.
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Materials and Methods
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Mice
C57BL/6 mice were bred at the Animal Production Area
(APA), National Cancer Institute-Frederick Cancer Research and
Development Facility, Frederick, MD. To produce timed pregnancies, mice
were mated overnight, the following day being considered gestational
day 1. After 14 days of gestation, mothers were killed by
CO2 asphyxiation, embryos by chilling on ice, and thymuses
were removed using a dissecting microscope.
Thymic organ culture
For generation of large cell numbers, the thymic lobes were
placed in submersion culture in 50 µl of medium in 96-well plates,
one lobe per well, in either the presence of anti-CD16 (2.4G2) for
NK conditions, or the absence of anti-CD16 (
ßT cell
conditions). Cells were harvested after 48 h (for PCR analysis of
TCR gene rearrangement) or after 5 days (for flow microfluorometry
analysis or NK assay).
Flow analysis
Following organ culture, cell surface staining for CD4, CD8,
TCR
ß, TCR
, and NK1.1 (PharMingen, San Diego, CA) and scatter
profile were performed on an Epics Profile (Coulter, Hileah,
FL).
PCR for TCR gene rearrangement
Following organ culture, DNA was extracted and assayed by PCR
for rearranged Vß3, -6, and -8 and V
3 genes and compared with
controls for DNA loading using internal V region primers as described
(14, 16).
NK assay
YAC-1 target cells were labeled by incubation for 1 h at
37° with Na51CrO4 (150 µCi; DuPont, Boston,
MA). Target cells were washed and plated into round-bottom wells
(Corning, New York, NY) at a concentration of 5 x 103
cells/well. Effector cells were added at the indicated concentrations
in medium with human IL-2 (500 U/ml). After 5 h,. specific
51Cr release was calculated as follows: {[cpm (exp) -
cpm (spontaneous)/cpm (maximum) - cpm (spontaneous)]} x
100.
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Results
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We initially observed that Abs of different specificities could
block rearrangement of the TCRß locus during thymic organ culture
under certain culture conditions (see Discussion). One
example of this "nonspecific" effect of Abs is shown in Figure 1
. This inhibitory effect is based on
interaction of the added Igs with CD16, a low affinity FcR, which is
expressed on most thymocytes at d14 of gestation (Fig. 1
A).
Inhibition of TCRß rearrangement by an IgG2b Ab was reversed when Fab
fragments of the 24G.2 Ab (which recognizes the FcR CD16 and CD32) were
added as competitors (Fig. 1
B). This confirms that an FcR
mediates inhibition by Igs, and it has been shown that CD16 (but not
CD32) is the FcR expressed at this stage in early T cell development
(10). Cross-linking CD16 with bivalent 24G.2 Ab effectively inhibited
TCRß rearrangement under these conditions (Fig. 1
C),
confirming that CD16 can deliver this signal.

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FIGURE 1. CD16 cross-linking inhibits rearrangement of TCRß. Thymic lobes were
removed from C57BL/6 mouse embryos on d14 following fertilization.
A, CD16 expression was analyzed by flow
microfluorometry. The hatched area contains cells stained by
anti-CD16, and the clear area shows staining by an isotype-matched
control. B, Thymic lobes were placed in submersion
cultures with IgG2b (which inhibits TCRß rearrangement). Anti-CD16
Fab fragments were added as competitors. After culture for 5 days, PCR
was used to assess Vß rearrangement. Controls for DNA loading
consisted of internal primers for Vß8. C, Lobes were
placed in submersion culture with the indicated concentrations of
anti-CD16 and analyzed for rearrangement of Vß8 and Vß6.
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Two different mouse strains were examined for the inhibitory effect of
anti-CD16 on TCRß rearrangement, as shown in Figure 2
. Although the C3H strain appears to be
less inhibited by anti-CD16, this is probably more a matter of
timing, because some rearrangement had already occurred in the starting
population before organ culture. Nevertheless, this shows that CD16
cross-linking is effective, in two different mouse strains, in
abolishing or reducing TCRß rearrangement. A number of different Vß
genes have been tested, including Vß3, -6, and -8, as well as several
J regions from both clusters, and all were equally inhibited by CD16
cross-linking.

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FIGURE 2. Anti-CD16 inhibition of TCRß rearrangement in different mouse
strains. Thymic organs obtained from C57BL/6 or C3H embryos were
cultured as described in the legend to Figure 1 . Analysis for
Vß3 rearrangement was performed by PCR.
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The TCR
locus undergoes rearrangement at about the same pro-T cell
stage as does the TCRß locus. Nevertheless, anti-CD16 treatment
had much less of an inhibitory effect on the
locus than on the ß
locus, as shown in Figure 3
. Thus,
anti-CD16 does not inhibit all VDJ recombination in pro-T cells,
suggesting that it does not antagonize the recombinase machinery per se
but, rather, affects the target genes.
Rearrangement of the TCRß gene is normally required for pro-T cells
to develop to the CD4+CD8+ stage. This
differentiation was greatly inhibited by anti-CD16, as shown in
Figure 4
A. The inhibition of
development was not associated with killing thymocytes by the
anti-CD16, based on several criteria. Rag-1 gene
expression was maintained after CD16 treatment, as shown in Figure 4
B, which not only shows that pro-T cells remained viable,
but also explains how the TCR
gene could undergo rearrangement (Fig. 3
). Other evidence that anti-CD16 exerted its effect by nonlethal
mechanisms are shown by the absence of apoptotic DNA (Fig. 4
C) and the recovery of reasonable numbers of cells from
cultured thymic organs (Fig. 4
D). Note that DNA
fragmentation was examined at early time points after addition of CD16,
because it has been shown that apoptotic thymocytes are rapidly
phagocytosed by macrophages, leading to complete DNA degradation at
later times (17).

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FIGURE 4. T cell development from d14 thymus is suppressed under conditions
favoring NK cell development. C57BL/6 thymic lobes were placed in
submersion cultures with anti-CD16 at the indicated concentrations.
A, After 5 days, T cell development was assessed by
staining with anti-CD4 and anti-CD8 and flow microfluorometry.
B, After 2 days, Rag-1 expression was
assayed by RT-PCR. C, At the indicated times, DNA
fragmentation was assessed by agarose gel electrophoresis and ethidium
bromide stain. Apoptotic control DNA is from the thymus of mice
injected i.v. with anti-CD3 Ab. D, Recovery of cells
from thymic lobes was determined following culture with
anti-CD16.
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Pro-T cells have the capacity to develop into NK cells if placed under
suitable conditions. Since CD16 is present on NK cells and can activate
numerous functions in these cells, we considered the possibility that
cross-linking CD16 on the pro-T cell might induce development toward
the NK lineage. This proved to be the case, as shown in Figure 5
. Three phenotypic and functional
criteria were used to show that CD16 promoted differentiation to the NK
lineage, scatter profile of large granular cells (Fig. 5
A),
expression of NK1.1 (Fig. 5
B), and the ability to lyse the
NK-sensitive target cell YAC-1 (Fig. 5
C). To boost lytic
function, IL-2 was added to mixture of effector and target cells.
Expression of CD16 also persisted on these cells (not shown). Another
criterion of NK cells is the absence of TCRß rearrangements (
Figs. 13

), which is also a very sensitive measure of the presence of T
cells and reflects the potency of inhibition of T cell development.
Thus, CD16 cross-linking, while inhibiting
ßT cell development,
promoted NK development as further supported by comparing the numbers
of each cell type detected per thymic lobe (Table I
). Before culture, one d14 lobe
contained
30,000 cells (none of which were
ß, 
, or NK
cells). As shown, inclusion of anti-CD16 for 5 days of thymic organ
culture reduced the number of
ßT cells 10-fold and increased the
number of NK cells 20-fold, whereas generation of 
T cells was
relatively unaffected.

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FIGURE 5. NK cell development from d14 thymus. C57BL/6 thymic lobes were cultured
as described in the legend to Figure 1 under conditions favoring T cell
vs NK cell development. A, Scatter profile was
determined. B, Cells were stained with biotinylated
NK1.1 and avidin-phycoerythrin. C, After 5 days of
culture, cells were assayed in the presence of IL-2 (500 U/ml) for NK
activity on YAC-1 target cells labeled with 51Cr in a 4-h
release assay.
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Discussion
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We observed that CD16, which is expressed on pro-T cells, can
deliver signals that inhibit rearrangement of TCRß, completely
repress
ßT cell development, and promote NK development. We have
performed additional studies3
demonstrating that individual pro-T cells have the potential to develop
into either T or NK cells, and that CD16 cross-linking can direct this
development. Taken together, our results support the theory that
development from a common lymphoid stem cell can be directed by
environmental signals along one or the other pathway.
The physiologic significance of the CD16 effects shown here remain a
matter of speculation but could represent a mechanism for confining the
TCRß gene rearrangement event to certain compartments in the thymus.
Thus, pro-T cells that have escaped the correct microenvironment may
engage a CD16 ligand that switches off the TCRß gene rearrangement.
The only ligand that we currently know for CD16 is aggregated Ig, which
elicited our original finding; others, however, may exist.
The shift from
ß T to NK development induced by anti-CD16
could occur in two different ways. One model is that CD16 cross-linking
acts on the lymphoid precursor, suppressing
ß T cell development
and stimulating NK development. A second model is that anti-CD16
does not act directly on the lymphoid precursor, but upon its daughter
cells. Thus, the lymphoid precursor divides unequally, one daughter
being committed to the T lineage, the other to the NK lineage, and CD16
cross-linking inhibits
ß development from the former and
stimulates NK development from the latter. Our data do not clearly
favor one or the other of these models.
The shift from
ß T cell to NK development was observed using two
different protocols: culturing a thymic lobe in the presence of
anti-CD16 in a microtiter well (submersion culture) as shown; or
reconstituting an irradiated thymic lobe (by hanging drop) with
precursors and placing it in a floating culture.3
There was little effect of anti-CD16 on T cell development of an
intact thymic lobe in floating culture (not shown); this is a more
optimal culture system for
ßT cell development than the submersion
culture, and perhaps the anti-CD16 cannot penetrate the organ to
reach sufficient levels, whereas thymocytes in suspension (during
hanging drop reconstitution) receive a saturating dose. The timing of
anti-CD16 addition was critical, its presence at the initiation of
hanging drop reconstitution producing complete
ßT to NK shift,
whereas delaying its addition by 36 h greatly reduced its efficacy
(not shown), probably because precursors became committed to the
ßT cell lineage during this period.3
CD16 is expressed on most thymocytes at d14 and as yet has no
known function in T cell development. Cross-linking CD16, which induced
a shift from
ß T cell development into NK development, did not
trigger detectable Ca+ influx (not shown) or apoptosis nor
did it repress Rag-1 gene expression. Anti-CD16
blocked
ß T cell development from CD25-
cells,3 perhaps due to blocking rearrangement of the
TCRß locus. There was little blocking effect on TCR
locus
rearrangement (or on 
T cell
development). The effects on TCRß
rearrangement and
ßT cell development have been observed in >50
experiments. Thus, CD16 cross-linking could have a specific effect on
the accessibility of the ß locus to the recombinase complex
(discussed in 18 . It has long been thought that mechanisms exist
that govern accessibility of rearranging loci, and the enhancers of
each locus have been implicated in regulating this accessibility. An
example of an extrinsic signal that differentially regulates the
accessibility of rearranging loci is the IL-7R, which induces
accessibility of the TCR
locus (but not the TCRß locus) to
cleavage by Rag proteins (Refs. 18 and 19; and Footnote 4). Thus, CD16
signals may have the opposite effect, masking the TCRß locus but
leaving the TCR
locus accessible to Rag cleavage.
Mature NK cells express CD16 and can be activated by CD16 cross-linking
to secrete cytokines and lyse target cells (reviewed in 20 . Thus,
CD16 can trigger intracellular events in NK cells and perhaps delivers
similar intracellular signals leading to NK differentiation from a
common lymphoid progenitor. Is the NK pathway normally a default
pathway for cells that fail to rearrange the TCRß locus? This seems
unlikely, since Rag knock-out mice, which cannot produce
rearrangements, do not preferentially generate NK cells. Thus, it seems
likely that CD16 actively induces NK development in our system.
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Acknowledgments
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We thank Rodney Wiles for technical assistance, Louise Finch for
FACS analysis, Dr. W. Fogler for Abs, Drs. L. Mason and
R. Hornung for help with NK assays, and Drs. B. J.
Fowlkes, J. Ortaldo, J. OShea, J. Oppenheim, and
D. Longo for comments on the manuscript.
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Footnotes
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1 Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. Scott K. Durum, National Cancer Institute, Building 560 Room 31-71, Frederick, MD 21702-1201. E-mail address: 
2 Abbreviation used in this paper: d, day (e.g., d14). 
3 C.-K. Lee, K. Kim, T. M. Geiman, W. J. Murphy, K. Muegge, and S. K. Durum. Cloning thymic precursors for
ß, 
, and NK lineages. Submitted for publication. 
4 S. Durum, S. Candeias, H. Nakajima, W. Leonard, A. Baird, L. Berg, and K. Muegge. Defective rearrangement of the TCR
locus in murine thymocytes deficient in IL-2R
,
c, or Jak3 is associated with methylation of the locus, a reduced production of sterile transcripts and can be overcome by treatment with the specific dealetylase inhibitor Trichostatin A. Submitted for publication. 
Received for publication March 4, 1998.
Accepted for publication June 1, 1998.
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