Abstract
Positive selection and lineage commitment to the cytolytic or helper lineage of T cells result in coordinated expression of MHC class I-restricted TCR and CD8 coreceptor or MHC class II-restricted TCR and CD4 molecule. Positive selection signals also regulate the survival and generation of requisite numbers of cytolytic or Th cells. β-Catenin is the major transcriptional cofactor of T cell factor and plays a role in thymocyte development. In this study, using mice expressing stabilized β-catenin and mice with T cell-specific deletion of β-catenin, we show that β-catenin regulates positive selection, but not lineage commitment of thymocytes. Furthermore, β-catenin expression accelerates the timing of mature CD8 thymocyte generation such that CD4 and CD8 single-positive thymocytes mature with the same kinetics during development.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 5028-5034 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Journal | Journal of Immunology |
Volume | 178 |
Issue number | 8 |
State | Published - Apr 15 2007 |
Externally published | Yes |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Immunology