Murine "viable motheaten" mutation reveals a gene critical to the development of both B and T lymphocytes.

In lethally irradiated normal mice reconstituted with both normal and autoimmune mutant viable motheaten (mev) bone marrow, the mev-derived B and T cells display aberrant behavior, while those derived from the normal bone marrow develop and function normally. The observed developmental abnormalities of mev B and T lymphocytes are therefore intrinsic to these cell types, rather than being determined by defective influences from the cells' environment. These data bring into question the in vivo significance of reported intercellular regulatory defects in motheaten (me) and mev mice and suggest that these mutations affect a gene whose product acts cell autonomously in the development of several hematopoietic cell lineages including B and T lymphocytes.