Activated Ras signals differentiation and expansion of CD4+8+ thymocytes.

DOI Web Site 5 Citations
  • W Swat
    Howard Hughes Medical Institute, The Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
  • Y Shinkai
    Howard Hughes Medical Institute, The Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
  • H L Cheng
    Howard Hughes Medical Institute, The Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
  • L Davidson
    Howard Hughes Medical Institute, The Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
  • F W Alt
    Howard Hughes Medical Institute, The Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA.

Bibliographic Information

Published
1996-05-14
DOI
  • 10.1073/pnas.93.10.4683
Publisher
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

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<jats:p>We describe a novel approach to assay the ability of particular gene products to signal transitions in lymphocyte differentiation in vivo. The method involves transfection of test expression constructs into RAG-1-deficient embryonic stem cells, which are subsequently assayed by the RAG-2-deficient blastocyst complementation approach. We have used this method to demonstrate that expression of activated Ras in CD4-8- (double negative, DN) prothymocytes in vivo induces their differentiation into small CD4+8+ (double positive, DP) cortical thymocytes with accompanying expansion to normal thymocyte numbers. However, activated Ras expression in DP cells does not cause proliferation or maturation to CD4+8- or CD4-8+ (single positive) thymocytes. Therefore, signaling through Ras is sufficient for promoting differentiation of DN to DP cells, but further differentiation requires the activity of additional signaling pathways.</jats:p>

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