EXTRATHYMIC DEVELOPMENT OF SELF-REACTIVE GAMMA-DELTA T-CELLS IN ATHYMIC BALB C NU/NU MICE/

In the present report, we demonstrated that extrathymic gamma delta T cells proliferated in the mixed culture of lymph node cells of BALB/c nu/nu mice and irradiated syngeneic spleen cells (syngeneic MLR), Reve rse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analyses revealed that V delta 5 and V delta 6 were dominantly expressed by the gamma d elta T cells from the syngeneic MLR. Furthermore, the syngeneic MLR ma y expand V delta 5(+) T cells with BALB invariant delta (BID) sequence which is specifically detected in BALB background mice because V delt a 5 RT-PCR products from syngeneic MLR were digested with an AluI rest riction enzyme which cut the D delta 2-J delta 1 junction of the BID s equence but not those of most non-BID V delta 5 sequences. Interesting ly, anti-mycobacterial and mammalian heat shock protein (Hsp) 60 mAb M L30 suppressed the generation of V delta 5 with an AluI site in syngen eic MLR. These results suggest that extrathymically derived V delta 5( +) and V delta 6(+) gamma delta T cells recognize BALB/c self antigens and that the Hsp60 or an Hsp60-related molecule may be involved in th e anti-self response of V delta 5(+) BID+ gamma delta T cells. (C) 199 6 Academic Press, Inc.