The research group from Sunnybrook Research Institute at the University of Toronto has provided the protocol for the differentiation of mouse embryonic stem cells (ESCs) or hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) into T-lymphocytes using the OP9-DL1 bone-marrow-derived stem cell line on the Cold Spring Harbour Protocols website. These cells are a bone-marrow-derived stromal cell line that ectopically expresses the Notch ligand, Delta-like 1 (Dll1). The OP9-DL1 system has been useful in addressing questions about the cellular and molecular regulation of T-lymphocyte lineage commitment, pre-T-cell receptor signaling, functional characteristics of progenitor T-cells, and maturation of functional CD8 T-cells. This approach provides a simple, versatile, and efficient culture system that allows for the commitment, differentiation, and proliferation of T-lineage cells from different sources of stem cells. This resource contains a series of protocols, the first of which describes the establishment, maintenance, and storage of OP9 and OP9-DL1 cells.
