Figure 3.

Differentiative Potential of Defined Adult Thymic Epithelial Cell Populations

(A) Schematic diagram of grafting assay. Briefly, GFP⁺TECs were sorted and re-aggregated with mouse embryonic fibroblasts and dissociated embryonic thymic lobes. Re-aggregates were grafted under the kidney capsule for 4 weeks.

(B) Sorting strategy for purification of GFP⁺ test populations. Plots shown are representative of more than 20 independent experiments.

(C–E) Images show immunohistochemical analysis of grafts derived from the input populations shown, after staining with markers indicative of defined cTEC and mTEC populations, as shown. (C) Test GFP⁺ population, PLET1⁻ mTEC^hi. Images show the single GFP⁺ area observed in two grafts analyzed. (D) Test GFP⁺ population, UEA1⁻Ly-51⁺PLET1⁻ cTECs. Images show representative data from greater than three independent grafts. (E) Test GFP⁺ population, UEA1⁻Ly-51⁺PLET1⁺ TECs. Images show representative data from three independent grafts. Dotted lines in (E) show boundaries between cortex and medulla. Scale bars, 100 μm.

See also Table 1, Figure S1, and Table S2.