Identification of Pre- and Postselection TCRαβ + Intraepithelial Lymphocyte Precursors in the Thymus

The immune system preserves and makes use of autoreactive lymphocytes with specialized functions. Here we showed that one of these populations, CD8αα +TCRαβ + intestinal intraepithelial lymphocytes (IELs), arose from a unique subset of double-positive thymocytes. This subset of cells was precommitte...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Immunity (Cambridge, Mass.) Mass.), 2006-10, Vol.25 (4), p.631-641
Main Authors: Gangadharan, Denise, Lambolez, Florence, Attinger, Antoine, Wang-Zhu, Yiran, Sullivan, Barbara A., Cheroutre, Hilde
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
CELLIMMUNO
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Summary:The immune system preserves and makes use of autoreactive lymphocytes with specialized functions. Here we showed that one of these populations, CD8αα +TCRαβ + intestinal intraepithelial lymphocytes (IELs), arose from a unique subset of double-positive thymocytes. This subset of cells was precommitted to preferentially give rise to CD8αα +TCRαβ + IELs, but they required exposure to self-agonist peptides. The agonist-selected TCRαβ + thymocytes are CD4 and CD8 double-negative, and their final maturation, including the induction of CD8αα expression, appeared to occur only after thymus export in the IL-15-rich environment of the gut. These developmental steps, including precommitment of immature thymocytes, TCR-mediated agonist selection, and postthymic differentiation promoted by cytokines, define a unique pathway for the generation of CD8αα +TCRαβ + IEL.
ISSN:1074-7613
1097-4180
DOI:10.1016/j.immuni.2006.08.018