Central CD4+ T cell tolerance: deletion versus regulatory T cell differentiation

The diversion of MHC class II-restricted thymocytes into the regulatory T (Treg) cell lineage, similarly to clonal deletion, is driven by intrathymic encounter of agonist self-antigens. Somewhat paradoxically, it thus seems that the expression of an autoreactive T cell receptor is a shared characteristic of T cells that are subject to clonal deletion and those that are diverted into the Treg cell lineage. Here, we discuss how thymocyte-intrinsic and -extrinsic determinants may specify the choice between these two fundamentally different T cell fates

Conserved and divergent aspects of human T‐cell development and migration in humanized mice

Humanized mice represent an important model to study the development and function of the human immune system. While it is known that mouse thymic stromal cells can support human T-cell development, the extent of interspecies cross-talk and the degree to which these systems recapitulate normal human T-cell development remain unclear. To address these questions, we compared conventional and non-conventional T-cell development in a neonatal chimera humanized mouse model with that seen in human fetal and neonatal thymus samples, and also examined the impact of a human HLA-A2 transgene expressed by the mouse stroma. Given that dynamic migration and cell–cell interactions are essential for T-cell differentiation, we also studied the intrathymic migration pattern of human thymocytes developing in a murine thymic environment. We found that both conventional T-cell development and intra-thymic migration patterns in humanized mice closely resemble human thymopoiesis. Additionally, we show that developing human thymocytes engage in short, serial interactions with other human hematopoietic-derived cells. However, non-conventional T-cell differentiation in humanized mice differed from both fetal and neonatal human thymopoiesis, including a marked deficiency of Foxp3(+) T-cell development. These data suggest that although the murine thymic microenvironment can support a number of aspects of human T-cell development, important differences remain, and additional human-specific factors may be required

Quantitative and temporal requirements revealed for Zap70 catalytic activity during T cell development

The catalytic activity of Zap-70 is crucial for T cell receptor (TCR) signaling, but the quantitative and temporal requirements for its function in thymocyte development are not known. Using a chemical-genetic system to selectively and reversibly inhibit Zap-70 catalytic activity in a model of synchronized thymic selection, we showed that CD4(+)CD8(+) thymocytes integrate multiple, transient, Zap-70-dependent signals over more than 36 h to reach a cumulative threshold for positive selection, whereas one hour of signaling was sufficient for negative selection. Titration of Zap-70 activity resulted in graded reductions in positive and negative selection but did not decrease the cumulative TCR signals integrated by positively selected OT-I cells, revealing heterogeneity, even among CD4(+)CD8(+) thymocytes expressing identical TCRs undergoing positive selection