First Author | Blish CA | Year | 1999 |
Journal | J Immunol | Volume | 162 |
Issue | 6 | Pages | 3131-40 |
PubMed ID | 10092762 | Mgi Jnum | J:153795 |
Mgi Id | MGI:4366238 | Doi | 10.4049/jimmunol.162.6.3131 |
Citation | Blish CA, et al. (1999) Chronic modulation of the TCR repertoire in the lymphoid periphery. J Immunol 162(6):3131-40 |
abstractText | Using TCR V beta 5 transgenic mice as a model system, we demonstrate that the induction of peripheral tolerance can mold the TCR repertoire throughout adult life. In these mice, three distinct populations of peripheral T cells are affected by chronic selective events in the lymphoid periphery. First, CD4+V beta 5+ T cells are deleted in the lymphoid periphery by superantigens encoded by mouse mammary tumor viruses-8 and -9 in an MHC class II-dependent manner. Second, mature CD8+V beta 5+ T cells transit through a CD8lowV beta 5low deletional intermediate during tolerance induction by a process that depends upon neither mouse mammary tumor virus-encoded superantigens nor MHC class II expression. Third, a population of CD4-CD8-V beta 5+ T cells arises in the lymphoid periphery in an age-dependent manner. We analyzed the TCR V alpha repertoire of each of these cellular compartments in both V beta 5 transgenic and nontransgenic C57BL/6 mice as a function of age. This analysis revealed age-related changes in the expression of V alpha families among different cellular compartments, highlighting the dynamic state of the peripheral immune repertoire. Our work indicates that the chronic processes maintaining peripheral T cell tolerance can dramatically shape the available TCR repertoire. |