Project description:Although the advent of organoids opened unprecedented perspectives for basic and translational research, immune system-related organoids remain largely underdeveloped. Here we established organoids from the thymus, the lymphoid organ responsible for T cell development. We identified conditions enabling thymic epithelial progenitor cell proliferation and development into organoids with diverse cell populations and transcriptional profiles resembling in vivo thymic epithelial cells (TECs) more closely than traditional TEC cultures. Contrary to these two-dimensional cultures, thymic epithelial organoids maintained thymus functionality in vitro and mediated physiological T cell development upon reaggregation with T cell progenitors. The reaggregates showed in vivo-like epithelial diversity and ability to attract T cell progenitors. Thymic epithelial organoids are the first organoids originating from the stromal compartment of a lymphoid organ. They provide new opportunities to study TEC biology and T cell development in vitro, paving the way for future thymic regeneration strategies in ageing or acute injuries.
Project description:Although the advent of organoids opened unprecedented perspectives for basic and translational research, immune system-related organoids remain largely underdeveloped. Here we established organoids from the thymus, the lymphoid organ responsible for T cell development. We identified conditions enabling thymic epithelial progenitor cell proliferation and development into organoids with diverse cell populations and transcriptional profiles resembling in vivo thymic epithelial cells (TECs) more closely than traditional TEC cultures. Contrary to these two-dimensional cultures, thymic epithelial organoids maintained thymus functionality in vitro and mediated physiological T cell development upon reaggregation with T cell progenitors. The reaggregates showed in vivo-like epithelial diversity and ability to attract T cell progenitors. Thymic epithelial organoids are the first organoids originating from the stromal compartment of a lymphoid organ. They provide new opportunities to study TEC biology and T cell development in vitro, paving the way for future thymic regeneration strategies in ageing or acute injuries.
Project description:Mouse thymic epithelial cell organoids, cultured in (1) expansion medium, (2) differentiation medium, or (3) differentiation medium with Rank ligand and retinoic acid (DM+RR), were FACS sorted into plates to follow the SORT-seq protocol (Muraro et al., 2016).
Project description:Single cell transcriptomic analysis of wildtype and AireKO thymic epithelial cells Single cells were sorted by FACS for single cell RNAseq library preparation
Project description:This study set out to assay the (polyA+) transcriptomes of single mature (MHCII high) mouse medullary thymic epithelial cells (mTEC). Following isolation by FACs, the transcriptomes of single mature mTEC was assayed using the Fluidigm C1 microfluidics platform and Illumina RNA-seq.