Can a Proper T-Cell Development Occur in an Altered Thymic Epithelium? Lessons From EphB-Deficient Thymi

For a long time, the effects of distinct Eph tyrosine kinase receptors and their ligands, ephrins on the structure, immunophenotype, and development of thymus and their main cell components, thymocytes (T) and thymic epithelial cells (TECs), have been studied. In recent years, the thymic phenotype o...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Muñoz, Juan José, García Ceca Hernández, Javier, Montero Herradón, Sara, Sánchez del Collado, Beatriz, Alfaro Sánchez, David, Zapata González, Agustín
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2018
País:España
Institución:Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM)
Repositorio:Docta Complutense
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:docta.ucm.es:20.500.14352/12126
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/12126
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:611.438
577.27
Thymus
Thymocytes
Thymic epithelial cells
Eph
Ephrins
Inmunología
Biología celular (Biología)
2412 Inmunología
2407 Biología Celular
Descripción
Sumario:For a long time, the effects of distinct Eph tyrosine kinase receptors and their ligands, ephrins on the structure, immunophenotype, and development of thymus and their main cell components, thymocytes (T) and thymic epithelial cells (TECs), have been studied. In recent years, the thymic phenotype of mutant mice deficient in several Ephs and ephrins B has been determined. Remarkably, thymic stroma in these animals exhibits important defects that appear early in ontogeny but little alterations in the proportions of distinct lymphoid cell populations. In the present manuscript, we summarize and extend these results discussing possible mechanisms governing phenotypical and functional thymocyte maturation in an absence of the critical T–TEC interactions, concluding that some signaling mediated by key molecules, such as MHCII, CD80, β5t, Aire, etc. could be sufficient to enable a proper maturation of thymocytes, independently of morphological alterations affecting thymic epithelium