Thymus biology

Division Of Basic Sciences - Nci

Investigators

Linked publications & trials

Abstract

During this fiscal year, we have revealed that the thymoproteasome-dependent positive selection of CD8 T cells occurs independent of proteasome switch between cortical thymic epithelial cells (cTECs) and medullary antigen-presenting cells including medullary TECs (mTECs), a novel finding against the conventional presumption. We have instead found that proteasome alteration between cTECs and cortical hematopoietic cells facilitates thymoproteasome-dependent positive selection in the thymic cortex. These findings have significant implications for advancing our understanding of the mechanism underlying T-cell positive selection. In publication, we discussed the developmental pathways that regulate thymic epithelial cell diversity during both the embryonic and postnatal periods and the experimental technology for the preparation of single-cell suspension of thymic epithelial cells.