Epithelial cell heterogeneity in the guinea pig thymus: Immunohistochemical characterization of four thymic epithelial subsets defined by monoclonal anti-keratin antibodies

Keratins are a family of related polypeptides constitutive of the cytoskeleton of epithelial cells and are never found in nonepithelial tissues. Thymic epithelial cells (TEC), known to induce T cell differentiation, are the keratin-containing cells within the thymus. Using four monoclonal anti-keratin antibodies (KL1, KL4, AE2, AE3) directed against keratins of different molecular weight, we have investigated the guinea pig thymic epithelium. The immunohistochemical analysis of thymic cryostatic sections revealed that the keratin expression of TEC varied according to their location in the thymic lobula; the thymic cortex was specifically stained by AE3 whereas the thymic medulla and the subcapsular cortex were recognized by KL4. In addition, KL1 and AE2 exclusively labeled Hassall's corpuscles. The biochemical analysis of keratins extracted from the thymus showed that each TEC subset was characterized by an unique pattern of keratin polypeptides. This study extends the concept of thymic epithelium heterogeneity and suggests that anti-keratin antibodies which allow the typing of TEC subsets may be valuable tools for studying the differentiation of thymic epithelium and its in vitro function on T lymphocytes.