DP-to-SP differentiation of the thymocyte cell line Thy278/107 is blocked by SB203580.
Thy278/107 cells (2 × 105) were cultured without (control) or with 10 μmol/L SB203580, or cocultured with SEA-pulsed APCs in the absence or in the presence of the p38 MAPK inhibitor. After 3 days, cultures were analyzed by flow cytometry. A, Contour plots of CD4/CD8 expression. Numbers represent the percentage of Thy278/107 cells in the indicated region. B, Histograms represent CD5, CD69 and Thy-1 expression on control (dotted line) Thy278/107 cells, or cells cocultured with SEA-pulsed APCs in the absence (thick solid line) or in the presence (thin solid line) of 10 μmol/L SB203580. Shaded curves represent background staining with isotype-matched FITC- or PE-conjugated rat immunoglobulins. Cell recoveries in this particular experiment were: 30.6 × 105 (control); 33.6 × 105 (SB203580); 14.3 × 105 (APC/SEA) and 8.0 × 105 (APC/SEA/SB203580).
