From A To T, In A Dish

Embryonic stem cells are totipotent, meaning that they have the potential to become any cell found in the body. However, a specific sequence of cues is needed to specify the type of cell into which they eventually develop. Zúñiga-Pflücker identified the sequence that gives rise to T lymphocytes. Mouse embryonic stem cells were cultured on a layer of "support" cells that express a membrane molecule called Delta-like ligand 1 (DL1), in addition to other nutrients required for survival of the young T cells. DL1 interacts with a protein called Notch on the surface of developing T lineage cells and sends signals that reinforce development to fully fledged T cells. When introduced into a T cell-deficient mouse, these cells were able to confer immune responses to virus infection, suggesting that they are fully functional. This finding may bring reconstitution of T cell functions lost in cancer or AIDS infection one step closer.

Author contact:

Juan Carlos Zúñiga-Pflücker
University of Toronto
ON, Canada
Tel: +1 416 480 6112
E-mail: jc.zuniga.pflucker@utoronto.ca

Additional contact for comment on paper:

Ellen V. Rothenberg
Caltech, Pasadena
CA, USA
Tel: +1 626 395 4992
E-mail: evroth@its.caltech.edu

Also available online.

(C) Nature Immunology press release.

Message posted by: Trevor M. D'Souza