A Study of Thymic Nurse Cell Function

9218859盖登胸腺哺育细胞(TNC)是一种特殊的上皮成分，含有完全封闭在细胞质内空泡中的T细胞。由于缺乏进行彻底分析所需的纯跨国公司种群数量，有关其功能的信息很少。最近，这个实验室已经能够使携带SV40病毒的跨国公司永生。来自这些TNC系的细胞已被证明在体外保持胸腺细胞内化的能力。此外，研究表明，被内化成TNCs的An结合的唯一细胞是CD4阳性、CD8阳性的胸腺细胞。这些细胞系将用于研究TNC的功能。本研究的目的是确定胸腺细胞TNC结合和内化的分子组成，以及双阳性胸腺细胞TNC内化在T细胞发育中的特定功能。将采用两种策略：(1)将产生TNC特异性的单抗(MAb)，以试图识别参与结合和内化的受体/配体。(2)可阻断胸腺细胞与肿瘤细胞结合的抗体制剂将被用来克隆表达相关蛋白的基因(S)。这些研究旨在确定胸腺细胞被跨国公司结合和内化的功能。胸腺哺育细胞是胸腺的特化上皮细胞，其中T淋巴细胞常被完全封闭在细胞质内的空泡中。这在生理学上是一个非常不寻常的现象。关于胸腺哺育细胞功能的信息很少，因为缺乏进行彻底分析所需的纯TNC群体。然而，它们被认为在免疫系统的T淋巴细胞的发展中发挥着重要作用。在NSF之前的支持下，这个实验室已经能够在培养中培养出纯净的胸腺哺育细胞群体。本项目的目标是在分子水平上研究胸腺哺育细胞与T淋巴细胞的相互作用。这项研究的结果应该为胸腺哺育细胞如何发挥作用提供独特的新信息。***

9218859 Guyden Thymic nurse cells (TNCs) are specialized epithelial components that contain T cells completely enclosed in intra-cytoplasmic vacuoles. Very little information about their function has been reported because of the lack of pure TNC populations in quantities necessary for their thorough analyses. Recently, this laboratory has been able to immortalize TNCs with SV40 virus. Cells from these TNC lines have been shown to maintain the ability to internalize thymocytes in vitro. Further, it has been shown that the only cells bound by an internalized into TNCs are CD4- positive, CD8-positive thymocytes. These cell lines will be used to study TNC function. The goals of this research are to determine the molecular components involved in TNC binding and internalization of thymocytes, and to determine the specific function of TNC internalization of double positive thymocytes in T cell development. Two strategies will be employed: (1) TNC- specific monoclonal antibodies (mAb) will be generated in an attempt to identify the receptor/ligand involved in binding and internalization. (2) Antibody preparations shown to block binding of thymocytes to TNCs will be used to clone the gene(s) expressing the protein(s) involved. These studies are designed to determine the function of thymocyte binding and internalization by TNCs. %%% Thymic nurse cells are specialized epithelial cells of the thymus in which T-lymphocytes are regularly found completely enclosed in intra-cytoplasmic vacuoles. This is a very unusual phenomenon in physiology. Very little information about the function of thymic nurse cells is known because of the lack of pure TNC populations in quantities necessary for their thorough analyses. However, they are believed to play an important role in the development of T- lymphocytes of the immune system. With prior NSF support, this laboratory has been able to grow pure populations of thymic nurse cells in culture. The goals of this project a re to study the interaction of thymic nurse cells with T-lymphocytes at the molecular level. The results of this research should provide unique new information on how thymic nurse cells function. ***