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. 2006 Oct;25(4):631-41.
doi: 10.1016/j.immuni.2006.08.018.

Identification of pre- and postselection TCRalphabeta+ intraepithelial lymphocyte precursors in the thymus

Denise Gangadharan  1 , Florence Lambolez, Antoine Attinger, Yiran Wang-Zhu, Barbara A Sullivan, Hilde Cheroutre
Affiliations
Free article

Identification of pre- and postselection TCRalphabeta+ intraepithelial lymphocyte precursors in the thymus

Denise Gangadharan et al. Immunity. 2006 Oct.
Free article

Abstract

The immune system preserves and makes use of autoreactive lymphocytes with specialized functions. Here we showed that one of these populations, CD8alphaalpha(+)TCRalphabeta(+) intestinal intraepithelial lymphocytes (IELs), arose from a unique subset of double-positive thymocytes. This subset of cells was precommitted to preferentially give rise to CD8alphaalpha(+)TCRalphabeta(+) IELs, but they required exposure to self-agonist peptides. The agonist-selected TCRalphabeta(+) thymocytes are CD4 and CD8 double-negative, and their final maturation, including the induction of CD8alphaalpha 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 CD8alphaalpha(+)TCRalphabeta(+) IEL.

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