THYMIC DEPLETION AND PERIPHERAL ACTIVATION OF CLASS-I MAJOR HISTOCOMPATIBILITY COMPLEX-RESTRICTED T-CELLS BY SOLUBLE PEPTIDE IN T-CELL RECEPTOR TRANSGENIC MICE
Injection of mice transgenic for a class I major histocompatibility complex-restricted T-cell receptor with a soluble peptide antigen from influenza virus nucleoprotein results in clonal depletion of double-positive immature thymocytes in the thymus and activation of mature T cells in the periphery, accompanied by a transient up-regulation of the T-cell receptor and CD3 and CD8 coreceptor molecules.