The thymic cortical epithelium determines the TCR repertoire of IL-17-producing ??T cells.

ABSTRACT: The thymus provides a specialized microenvironment in which distinct subsets of thymic epithelial cells (TECs) support T-cell development. Here, we describe the significance of cortical TECs (cTECs) in T-cell development, using a newly established mouse model of cTEC deficiency. The deficiency of mature cTECs caused a massive loss of thymic cellularity and impaired the development of ??T cells and invariant natural killer T cells. Unexpectedly, the differentiation of certain ??T-cell subpopulations-interleukin-17-producing V?4 and V?6 cells-was strongly dysregulated, resulting in the perturbation of ??T-mediated inflammatory responses in peripheral tissues. These findings show that cTECs contribute to the shaping of the TCR repertoire, not only of "conventional" ??T cells but also of inflammatory "innate" ??T cells.

SUBMITTER: Nitta T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4428049 | biostudies-literature | 2015 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature