| First Author | Su DM | Year | 2003 |
| Journal | Nat Immunol | Volume | 4 |
| Issue | 11 | Pages | 1128-35 |
| PubMed ID | 14528302 | Mgi Jnum | J:86255 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:2679163 | Doi | 10.1038/ni983 |
| Citation | Su DM, et al. (2003) A domain of Foxn1 required for crosstalk-dependent thymic epithelial cell differentiation. Nat Immunol 4(11):1128-35 |
| abstractText | Thymic epithelial cells (TECs) are required for T cell maturation within the thymus. In the nude (Foxn1(nu/nu)) mouse, TECs fail to differentiate. We have generated a hypomorphic allele called Foxn1(Delta), from which an N-terminal domain was deleted. The phenotype was thymus specific, identifying a tissue-specific activity for this domain. Foxn1(Delta/Delta) mice showed abnormal thymic architecture, lacking cortical and medullary domains. In contrast to thymi in mice with the null allele, the Foxn1(Delta/Delta) thymus promoted T cell development, but with specific defects at both the double-negative and double-positive stages. Thus, initiation and progression of TEC differentiation are genetically separable functions of Foxn1, and the N-terminal domain is required for crosstalk-dependent TEC differentiation. |
