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Thymic lymphocyte differentiation and thymic leukemogenesis

Journal Article · · Int. J. Radiat. Oncol., Biol. Phys.; (United States)
Henry Kaplan helped establish the fields of lymphocyte biology and viral leukemogenesis by his early and continuing studies on radiation leukemogenesis. As one of Henry's students I carried on these dual preoccupations with thymic lymphocytopoiesis and thymic lymphomagenesis. This communication demonstrates that 1) thymic lymphoctyes are derived from bone marrow precursors which lack any T cell markers; 2) these bone marrow cells (or their clonogenic subsets) can give rise to either thymic cortical plus medullary progeny, or medullary progeny alone; 3) thymic lymphocytes mature in contract with 3-5 classes of monlymphoid cells and one of these subsets, cortical dendritic epithelial cells, express an unusual distribution of MHC antigen; 4) the population of cells which are poised to emigrate from the thymus are a unique subset of cortical cells which possess peripheral lymphoid organ homing receptors; and 5) the thymic target cells for retrovirus lymphomagenesis express highly specific retrovirus receptors that are analogous (and perhaps synonymous) with antigen-specific T cell receptors.
Research Organization:
Stanford Univ. School of Medicine, CA
OSTI ID:
5863272
Journal Information:
Int. J. Radiat. Oncol., Biol. Phys.; (United States), Journal Name: Int. J. Radiat. Oncol., Biol. Phys.; (United States) Vol. 11:1; ISSN IOBPD
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English