摘要 |
A procedure for carrying out T cell differentiation of CD34+ stem cells in an in vitro culture of thymic epithelial fragments whereby the differentiated T cells achieve full immunocompetence. The invention also includes the procedure for differentiation of stem cells from HIV seropositive individuals or genetically modified stem cells. The invention broadly relates to the culture of cultured thymic epithelial fragments and provides procedures for verifying true immunocompetence of the resulting T cells and for analyzing the effects of various compounds on the differentiation process. The invention also comprises several novel applications for utilizing the procedure of the invention, including grafting fortified cultured thymic epithelial fragments and infusing immunocompetent T cells into patients with compromised immune systems.
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