PMID: 7523263May 1, 1994Paper

Analysis of Fas antigen gene expression in human thymocytes fractionated with discontinuous gradients using bovine serum albumin

[Hokkaido igaku zasshi] The Hokkaido journal of medical science
M Nakanishi

Abstract

Premature thymocytes proliferate and differentiate from immature to mature T lymphocytes through out both positive and negative selections in thymus. The clonal deletion is a major mechanism of cell selection and mainly depends on apoptosis. Recently, Itoh et al. isolated cDNAs encoding Fas antigen which mediate apoptosis and is expressed on mouse thymocytes. Herein, I further attempted to examine the expression of Fas antigen gene in human thymocytes from thymus resected at cardiac operations. Human thymocytes were separated into 5 fractions with discontinuous gradient using bovine serum albumin (BSA). They consisted of fractions I (BSA concentrations: 10-14%), II (14-16%), III (16-18%), IV (18-20%), and V (20-24%). Human thymocytes in each fraction were characterized regarding the rearrangement of T cell receptor (TCR) genes and the expression of human Fas antigen gene. Human thymocytes were divided into three sub populations according to their stages of differentiation and maturation. First population, thymocytes contained in fraction I, expressed interleukin 2 receptor alpha-chain (IL-2R alpha) and proliferated without the presence of recombinant IL-2 (rIL-2). Second, thymocytes contained in fraction II and III, expressed I...Continue Reading

Related Concepts

Related Feeds

Apoptosis

Apoptosis is a specific process that leads to programmed cell death through the activation of an evolutionary conserved intracellular pathway leading to pathognomic cellular changes distinct from cellular necrosis