Summary
Phenotype and functions of cells of the T lymphocyte lineage from fetal liver, thymus, spleen and bone marrow were investigated at various ages. T lymphocyte differentiation was shown to be initiated in the thymus after the 7th week of gestation. In this organ, a large number of cells with a phenotype comparable to that of children thymocytes and with a high proliferative response to phytomitogens was observed at the 14th week. The fetal liver and bone marrow never contained many T-cells and the liver was shown to be virtually devoid of any of these cells before the 13th week. Fetal spleen contained appreciable amounts of T-cells after the 13th week. Helper and suppressor activities of fetal thymocytes and splenocytes were acquired between the 12th and the 16th week, but they were never as complete nor as potent as those of adult lymphocytes. HLA antigens were detected in very low amount in lymphocytes from the various organs at the beginning of the second trimester and their expression was significantly enhanced by in vitro incubation with a-interferon (α-IFN), a procedure that permits easier HLA typing of fetal cells.
Author for correspondence.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Abo T, Miller CA, Gartland GL, Balch CM (1983) Differentiation stages of human natural killer cells in lymphoid tissues from fetal to adult life. J. Exp. Med. 157: 273.
Asma GEM, Langlois Van Den Bergh R, Vossen JM (1983) Use of monoclonal antibodies in a study of the development of T lymphocytes in the human fetus. Clin. Exp. Immunol. 53: 429.
Boyüm A (1968) Isolation of mononuclear cells and granulocytes from human blood. Scand. J. Clin. Lab. Invest. 21 (suppl. 97 ), 9: 109.
Carr MC, Stites DP, Fudenberg HH (1973) Dissociation of response to phytohemagglutinin and adult allogeneic lymphocytes in human foetal tissues. Nature New Biol. 241: 279.
Fellous M, Kamoun M, Gresser I, Bono R (1979) Enhanced expression of HLA antigens and B2-microglobulin on interferon-treated human lymphoid cells. Eur. J. Immunol. 9: 446.
Hockland M, Ritsz J, Hockland P (1983) Interferon-induced changes in expression of antigens defined by monoclonal antibodies on malignant and non-malignant mononuclear hematopoetic cells. J of Interferon Research, 3: 199.
Janossy G, Tidman N, Papageorgiou ES, Kung PC, Goldstein G (1981) Distribution of T lymphocyte subsets in the human bone marrow and thymus: An analysis with monoclonal antibody. J. Immunol. 126: 1608.
Keightley RG, Cooper MD, Lawton AR (1976) The T cell dependence of B-cell differentiation induced by Pokeweed Mitogen. J. Immunol. 117: 1538.
Lindahl P, Leary P, Gresser I (1974) Enhancement of the expression of histocompatibility antigens of mouse lymphoid cells by interferon in vitro. Eur. J. Immunol. 4: 779.
Rabinowich H, Beharay C, Ben-Aderet N, Klajman A (1983) Cellular and humoral suppressor activity induced by Concanavalin A-stimulated human fetal liver cells. Transplantation 35: 452.
Reinherz EL, Kung PC, Goldstein G, Levy RH, Schlossman SF (1980) Discrete stages of human intrathymic differentiation: Analysis of normal thymocytes and leukemic lymphoblasts of T-cell lineage. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 77: 1588.
Royo C, Touraine JL, Bétuel H (1985) HLA-typing of fetal cells using interferon treatment in vitro. In: Gale RP, Touraine JL, Lucarelli G (eds) Progress in Clinical and Biological Research, Fetal Liver Transplantation. New York: Alan R. Liss, Inc., 193: 149.
Siegal FP, Siegal M, Good RA (1976) Suppression of B-cell differentiation by leukocytes from hypogammaglobulinemic patients. J. of Clin. Invest. 58: 109.
Stites DP, Carr MC, Fudenberg HH (1974) Ontogeny of cellular immunity in the human fetus: Development of responses to phytohemagglutinin and to allogeneic cells. Cellular Immunol 11: 257.
Streeter GL (1920) Foot length of the foetus. Contributions to Embryology 11: 143.
Toivanen P, Uksila J, Leino A, Lassila O, Hirvonen T, Ruuskanen (1981) Development of mitogen responding T-cells and natural killer cells in the human fetus. Immunol. Rev. 57: 89.
Touraine JL, Hadden JW, Good RA (1977) Sequential stages of human T lymphocyte differentiation. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 74: 3414.
Touraine JL, Touraine F, El Mohandes A, de Bouteiller O, Salle B (1980) Suppressor T lymphocytes active on mixed lymphocyte reaction in man: Stage of differentiation of suppressor T lymphocytes. In: Transplantation and Clinical Immunology. Amsterdam: Excerpta Medica 12: 121.
Touraine JL, Roncarolo MG, Royo C, Touraine F (1987) Fetal tissue transplantation, bone marrow transplantation and prospective gene therapy in severe immunodeficiencies and enzyme deficiencies: Thymus, this issue.
Uksila J, Lassila O, Hirvonen T, Toivanen P (1983) Development of NK cell function in the human fetus. J. Immunol. 130: 153.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1987 Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, Dordrecht
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Royo, C., Touraine, JL., De Bouteiller, O. (1987). Ontogeny of T lymphocyte differentiation in the human fetus: Acquisition of phenotype and functions. In: Touraine, JL., Gale, R.P., Kochupillai, V. (eds) Fetal liver transplantation. Developments in Hematology and Immunology, vol 18. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-3365-1_7
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-3365-1_7
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-94-010-8011-8
Online ISBN: 978-94-009-3365-1
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive