3 research outputs found
Differential Expression Of Adhesion Molecules Within The Human Thymus
Development of a diverse, MHC-restricted yet self-tolerant T-cell repertoire occurs within
the thymus, and requires contact between developing T cells and their stromal microenvironment.
Such interactions are likely to depend on the combinatorial effect of specific
adhesion molecules. As a preliminary step to determining their role in T-cell development,
we have studied the distribution of LFA-1/ICAM-1, CD2/LFA-3, VLA-4/VCAM-1, and
HECA 452-antigen/E-Selectin ligand pairs on frozen sections of human thymus. Using two
color-immunohistochemistry, and a variety of cell-lineage markers that reveal the nature of
the cells on which these adhesion molecules are located, we find a differential distribution
of adhesion molecules, with some being shared by both endothelial and epithelial cells. We
also identify the VCAM-1-positive subpopulation as cortical macrophages. The relevance of
these findings to thymopoiesis is discussed