Simultaneous Detection of Intracytoplasmic CD3ε and Surface CD4 and CD8 Expression by Murine Thymocyte by Flow Cytometry

T-Iymphocytes regulate the erpression of a number of surface antigens such as CD4, CD8 and T cell receptor/CD3 complex, during their intrathymir development. The appearance of surface CD3 is heralded by cytoplasmic CD3 expression in T cell precursors. Thus early T cell progenitors may be distinguished by the presence of cytoplasmic CD3 in the absence of surface CD3. In this study, 1 described a technique for the simultaneous detection of intracytoplasmic CD3 and other surface antigens, CD4 and CD8 in the cells permrabilization by NP-40 fo11owing formaldehyde fixation. The technique results in no shift in the light scatter property andno changes in the expression of surface antigens, Tho present technique permitted the detection of cytoplasmic CD3ε and may prove useful in studying the expression of several cytoplasmic and surface antigens during early T cell development.