Science, Vol 261, Issue 5123, 918-921
Copyright © 1993 by American Association for the Advancement of Science
T cell development in mice that lack the zeta chain of the T cell antigen receptor complex
PE Love,
EW Shores,
MD Johnson,
ML Tremblay,
EJ Lee,
A Grinberg,
SP Huang,
A Singer,
and
H Westphal
Laboratory of Mammalian Genes and Development, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, MD 20892.
The zeta subunit of the T cell antigen receptor complex is required for targeting nascent receptor complexes to the cell surface and for receptor-mediated signal transduction. To examine the significance of the zeta subunit in T cell development, mice deficient for zeta expression were generated by gene targeting. These zeta-/- mice had few CD4+CD8+ thymocytes, and the generation of CD4+ and CD8+ single positive T cells was impaired but not completely abrogated. Peripheral T cells were present but were unusual in that they expressed small amounts of CD5 and few T cell receptors. Thus, zeta chain expression influences thymocyte differentiation but is not absolutely required for the generation of single positive T cells.
