Intravital Imaging of Thymopoiesis Reveals Dynamic Lympho-Epithelial Interactions
- Authors
- Hess, I., and Boehm, T.
- ID
- ZDB-PUB-120223-12
- Date
- 2012
- Source
- Immunity 36(2): 298-309 (Journal)
- Registered Authors
- Boehm, Tom, Hess, Isabell
- Keywords
- none
- MeSH Terms
-
- Animals
- Animals, Genetically Modified
- Blood Circulation
- Cell Differentiation
- Cell Movement
- Cellular Microenvironment
- Chemotaxis, Leukocyte
- Embryonic Stem Cells/cytology
- Embryonic Stem Cells/immunology
- Epithelium/embryology
- Lymphopoiesis/physiology*
- Mice
- Models, Immunological
- T-Lymphocytes/cytology*
- T-Lymphocytes/physiology*
- Thymus Gland/cytology
- Thymus Gland/embryology*
- Thymus Gland/immunology
- Zebrafish/embryology
- Zebrafish/genetics
- Zebrafish/physiology
- PubMed
- 22342843 Full text @ Immunity
T cell development occurs in the thymus. The thymic microenvironment attracts hematopoietic progenitors, specifies them toward the T cell lineage, and orchestrates their differentiation and egress into the periphery. The anatomical location of the thymus and the intrauterine development of mouse embryos have so far precluded a direct visualization of the initial steps of thymopoiesis. Here, we describe transgenic zebrafish lines enabling the in vivo observation of thymopoiesis. The cell-autonomous proliferation of thymic epithelial cells, their morphological transformation into a reticular meshwork upon contact with hematopoietic cells, and the multiple migration routes of thymus-settling cells could be directly visualized. The unexpectedly dynamic thymus homing process is chemokine driven and independent of blood circulation. Thymocyte development appears to be completed in less than 4 days. Our work establishes a versatile model for the in vivo observation and manipulation of thymopoiesis.