No abstract available.
Culture Media, Conditioned* ; Thymocytes*

No abstract available
Apoptosis ; Humans* ; Thymocytes*

Human epidermal cells were obtained from suction blisters of 14 healthy individuals, and were cultured for 24-96 hours st a concentration of 1x 10(7)/ml, 5 x 10(6)/ml, 1 x 10(6)/ml, 5 x 10(5)/ml. Cells were also cultured with or without stimulants such as phorbol myristic acetate(PMA), muramyl dipeptide(MDP), and endotoxin. Then, cell-free supernatants of cultured epidermal cells were tested for ETAF by a thymocyte prolifera.tiom assay. The results were as follows : 1, The highest activity of ETAF was produced by fresh epidermal cells(EC) at a concentration of 1 x10(7)ml. Its highest 3H-TdR was 4928+/-2480cpm. The highest activity of ETAF was produced by cultured EC at a concentration of 5 x10(6)/ml. Its highest 3H-TdR was 13983+/-8045 cpm. 2. The highest activity of ETAF was produced by fresh EC with n culture time of 24 hours. Its highest 3H-TdR was 5357+/-3760cpm. The highest activity of ETAF was produced by cultured EC with a culture time of 72 hours. Its highest 3H-TdR was 11905+/-5327cpm. 3. The highest activity of ETAF was produced by both fresh and cultured EC at a titer of 1: 8 dilution of cell-free supernatants. 1ts highest 3H-TdR was 4928 +/-2480cpm in the fresh EC, and 11905+/-5327cpm in the cultured EC. 4. Alhen fresh EC was stimulated with PMA, MDP and endotoxin, higher activity of ETAF was found in the group stimulated with PMA or MDP compared with its control group. But lower activity of ETAF was found in the group stimulated with endotoxin compared with its control group. The 3H-TdR was 6000+/-1936 cpm in the group stimulated with PMA, 6945+/-3182 cpm in the group stimulated with MDP, and 36943+/-36861cpm in the group stimulated with endotoxin.
Blister ; Humans* ; Suction ; Thymocytes

Fetal thymus may be the organ for NK cell maturation, but the in vivo evidences are few, Here, by analyzing NK cell receptor, we present that NK cells develop in fetal thymus and fetal liver and that NK cell receptor appears earlier than the expression CD16 or CD56. Moreover, the finding that the repertoire of NK cell receptor is different between fetal thymus and fetal liver lymphocytes suggests that the environmental factors may influence the NK cell receptor repertoire during NK cell maturation.
Killer Cells, Natural* ; Liver* ; Lymphocytes* ; Thymocytes* ; Thymus Gland

The identification of tumor-specific antigens has represented a critical milestone in cancer diagnosis and therapy. Clinical research in this area for leukemia has also been driven over the past few decades by the hope that surface antigens with restricted tissue expression would be identified. Disappointingly, only a small number of the leukemic antigens identified to date, meet sufficient criteria to be considered viable immunophenotypic markers. In this paper, we nominate anti-JL1 monoclonal antibody as an immunodiagnostic and immunotherapeutic candidate for leukemia. The JL1 molecule appears to be a novel cell surface antigen, which is strictly confined to a subpopulation of limited stages during the hematopoietic differentiation process. Despite the restricted distribution of the JL1 antigen in normal tissues and cells, anti-JL1 monoclonal antibody specifically recognizes various types of leukemia, irrespective of immunophenotypes. On the basis of these findings, we propose JL1 antigen as a tumor-specific marker, which shows promise as a candidate molecule for diagnosis and immunotherapy in leukemia, and one that spares normal bone marrow stem cells.
Antigens, Surface ; Bone Marrow ; Diagnosis ; Hope ; Immunotherapy ; Leukemia* ; Stem Cells ; Thymocytes*

We reviewed 86 thymic epithelial tumors and reclassified them according to the Kirchner and Muller- Hermelink classification. They were subtyped as medullary, mixed, predominantly cortical (organoid), cortical, well differentiated thymic carcinoma, and poorly differentiated thymic carcinoma. The frequency of each subtype was determined and histologic findings were related to stage and myasthenia gravis. Immunohistochemical stains for bcl-2 protein as a marker for medullary thymocytes and MIC-2 protein as a marker for cortical thymocytes were performed in each case. The stages and association of myasthenia gravis was significantly different in each subtypes. The results of this study demonstrate that this histogenetic classification is clinically applicable. The bcl-2 protein was specifically demonstrated in lymphocytes within areas of medullary differentiation and MIC-2 protein in cortical differentiation. The expression of bcl-2 and MIC-2 proteins lend histogenetic support for this new classification of thymoma. Bcl-2 protein is strongly expressed in tumor epithelial cells of every case of poorly differentiated thymic carcinoma whereas the other types of thymic epithelial tumors do not show epithelial expression of this protein. The strong expression of bcl-2 protein in tumor epithelium may be considered as a predictor of aggressive behavior in thymic epithelial tumors.
Classification ; Coloring Agents ; Epithelial Cells ; Epithelium ; Lymphocytes ; Myasthenia Gravis ; Staphylococcal Protein A ; Thymocytes ; Thymoma*

No abstract available.
Animals ; Antibody Formation* ; Bone Marrow Cells* ; Bone Marrow* ; Culture Media, Conditioned* ; Mice* ; Thymocytes*

BACKGROUND: Scid.adh is a recently developed murine thymic lymphoma cell line, which has been used as in vitro model for the study of double negative stage III thymocytes. In this study, we compared the expression profile of a number of genes and proteins, which are tightly related to T cell development and apoptosis, in thymic lymphoma cell lines, R1.1, EL-4, and Scid.adh for the developmental staging. METHODS: We examined the expression of development marker genes and proteins in three lymphoma cell lines by flow cytometry and RT-PCR. In addition, the expression of apoptosis-related molecules including bcl-2, bax and Fas was also investigated. RESULTS: As previously reported, Scid.adh cell line expressed CD8 and CD25 but not TCR alpha chain, while R1.1 cells expressed TCR alpha chain and both CD4 and CD8 transcripts. These suggest that R1.1 might be in double positive stage, and low level of CD44 expression and the absence of CD25 support this suggestion. In contrast, EL-4 cells showed high level of TCR alpha chain transcript, and low-level of CD4 expression, suggesting that EL-4 is in more mature stage than R1.1. Further, this suggestion was supported by the lack of mT-20 in EL-4 cells, which is expressed in the immature thymocytes, and Scid.adh and R1.1 cell lines, but not in the terminally differentiated thymocytes and peripheral T cells. Among the apoptosis-related gene, transcripts of bcl-2 gene were detected in both R1.1 and EL-4 but not in Scid.adh cells, while bax was expressed in all cell lines. Fas expression was the highest in EL-4 cells and low in Scid.adh cell line. CONCLUSION: R1.1 cell may represent double positive stage, and EL-4 is more differentiated cell line. In addition, Scid.adh and EL-4 cell lines are suspected to be useful for the study of function of bcl-2 family and Fas during the thymocyte development, respectively.
Apoptosis ; Cell Line* ; Flow Cytometry ; Genes, bcl-2 ; Humans ; Lymphoma* ; T-Lymphocytes ; Thymocytes

IL-17A is a pro-inflammatroy cytokine secreted by activated T cells. The IL-17 family consist of IL-17A, IL-17B, IL-17C, IL-17D, IL-17E and IL-17F. IL-17A and IL-17F are produced primarily in activated T cells. In contrast, IL-17B, IL-17C, IL-17D and IL-17E are expressed in a wide assortment of tissues. Their functions partially overlap those of IL-17A, although they have not been as thoroughly investigated. The receptor for IL-17A (IL-17R) is widely expressed in a variety of tissues. IL-17A and IL-17E mRNAs were expressed in only EL4 cells. IL-17C mRNA expression was observed in the thymic subcapsular/cortex epithelial cells (SNEC), cortex or cortical reticular cells (CREC), medullary epithelial cells (MEC), medullary interdigitating-like cells (MDC), thymocytes and EL4 cells. However, IL-17C mRNA was not expressed in RAW 264.7 cells. Immunohistochemical study also demonstrated not only the presence of IL-17A mainly in the thymic epithelial cells, but also the upregulated expression of IL-17A in the thymic epithelial cells of the regenerating thymus. Thus, the results of the present study suggest that IL-17A expressed in the thymocytes and thymic epithelial cells could play an important role in the development of new T cells to replace T cells damaged by cyclophosphamide treatment during thymus regeneration.
Animals ; Cyclophosphamide ; Epithelial Cells ; Humans ; Interleukin-17 ; Rats ; Regeneration ; RNA, Messenger ; T-Lymphocytes ; Thymocytes ; Thymus Gland

The epidermal cell-derived thymocyte activating factor (ETAF) produced by keratinocytes and endowed with IL-1 like activities, can potentiate or stimulate a variety of immune reactionsl. In addition to stimulating thymocyte proliferation, it enhanced IL-2 production by mitogen-stimulated lymphocytes. In this study, IL-2 activity stimulated by ETAF was investigated by using peripheral lymphocytes (PBL)and LBRM33 1A5 cell lines. The expression of HLA-DR antigen and the effect of r-IFN-gamma on IL-1 production by keratinocytes were also evaluated : 1. The HLA-DR positive cultured keratinocytes were obser ved in interferon (IFN), interferon-phorbol myristic acid (IFN-PMA) and interferon-lipopolysaccharide (IFN-LPS) groups. There was no HLA-DR expression in the control. PMA. and LPS group. 2. Il-1alpha from supernatants of cultured keratinocytes were produced by all groups including control group. The amounts of IL-1alpha produced by IFN, IFN-PMA and IFN-LPS groups were higher than the other groups. 3. There were no statistical differences between total IL-1alpha from cultured keratinocytes and control or other experimental groups. 4. In experiment for positivie control, the anrounts of IL-2 production by PBL and LBRM33 1A5 cell line were increased proportional to the concentration of added rIL-1. But there was no difference between groups above 1.0 U/ml and 0.5 fmol in LBRM33 1A5 cell line. 5. the production of IL-2 by PBL were increased by phytohemagglutinin (PHA), PHAPMA and PHA-LPS groups. There were no production of IL-2 in control, IFN, LPS, only LPS added group, and IL-1alpha. The IL-2 induced by PHA-PMA group was much higher than the other groups. The production of IL-2 was stimulated by IL-1 of supernatarnts and cell lysates from the cultured keratinocytes, but here was no correlation between IL-2 production and added IL-1. 6. The production of IL-2 by LBRM33 IA5 were increased by PHA, PHA-PMA and PHA-LPS groups. There were no production of IL-2 in the other groups. In summary, the results suggest that supernatants and cell lysates from cultured keratinocytes can stimulate the IL-2 production by human PBL and LBRM33 1A5 cell line. Therefore the ETAF can potentiate or stimulate the immune reactions and enhance IL-2 production by mitogen-stimulated lymphocytes.
Cell Line ; HLA-DR Antigens ; Humans ; Interferons ; Interleukin-1* ; Interleukin-2* ; Keratinocytes* ; Lymphocytes* ; Myristic Acid ; Thymocytes