| First Author | Pazirandeh A | Year | 2002 |
| Journal | FASEB J | Volume | 16 |
| Issue | 7 | Pages | 727-9 |
| PubMed ID | 11923224 | Mgi Jnum | J:128114 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:3766184 | Doi | 10.1096/fj.01-0891fje |
| Citation | Pazirandeh A, et al. (2002) Effects of altered glucocorticoid sensitivity in the T cell lineage on thymocyte and T cell homeostasis. FASEB J 16(7):727-9 |
| abstractText | The homeostatic regulation that controls total thymocyte and peripheral T-cell numbers is not clearly understood. We describe here a direct hormonal influence of endogenous levels of glucocorticoids (GCs) on thymocyte and peripheral T-cell homeostasis independent of indirect systemic effects of GCs. The results were obtained by generating transgenic mice with an altered GC sensitivity targeted to thymocytes and peripheral T cells by increasing or decreasing glucocorticoid receptor (GR) expression specifically in thymocytes and peripheral T cells. A twofold increase in GC sensitivity resulted in a major decrease in thymocyte number, affecting all subpopulations, although single-positive CD8+ cells were less influenced. In the thymus, this was due to increased apoptosis in the organ, whereas proliferation of thymocyte populations was unaffected. In the periphery, a pronounced reduction in T-cell number was seen, demonstrating an effect of endogenous GCs also on T-cell homeostasis. The effects were confirmed in transgenic mice with reduced GR expression, which showed increased thymocyte and T-cell numbers. Thus, our data demonstrate that physiological GC levels are directly involved in controlling the size of both thymocyte and T-cell pools. |
