The invention relates to a method for lymphoid tissue-specific cell production from hematopoietic progenitor cells in unique, three-dimensional culture devices, in the presence of lymphoreticular stromal cells and in the absence of exogenously added growth factors. The resulting differentiated progeny. The lymphoid tissue-specific cells may be isolated at any sequential stage of differentiation and further expanded. The lymphoid tissue-specific cells also may be genetically altered at any stage of the process.