The conveyor belt hypothesis for thymocyte migration: participation of adhesion and de-adhesion molecules

Brazilian Journal of Medical and Biological Research

D.m.s. Villa-verde¹  T.c. Calado¹  J.s.p. Ocampo¹  E. Silva-monteiro¹  W. Savino¹ 

[1] ,FIOCRUZ

关键词: thymus;    thymic nurse cells;    adhesion molecules;    extracellular matrix;    galectin-3;   

DOI  :  10.1590/S0100-879X1999000500010

来源: SciELO

【 摘 要 】

Thymocyte differentiation is the process by which bone marrow-derived precursors enter the thymus, proliferate, rearrange the genes and express the corresponding T cell receptors, and undergo positive and/or negative selection, ultimately yielding mature T cells that will represent the so-called T cell repertoire. This process occurs in the context of cell migration, whose cellular and molecular basis is still poorly understood. Kinetic studies favor the idea that these cells leave the organ in an ordered pattern, as if they were moving on a conveyor belt. We have recently proposed that extracellular matrix glycoproteins, such as fibronectin, laminin and type IV collagen, among others, produced by non-lymphoid cells both in the cortex and in the medulla, would constitute a macromolecular arrangement allowing differentiating thymocytes to migrate. Here we discuss the participation of both molecules with adhesive and de-adhesive properties in the intrathymic T cell migration. Functional experiments demonstrated that galectin-3, a soluble ß-galactoside-binding lectin secreted by thymic microenvironmental cells, is a likely candidate for de-adhesion proteins by decreasing thymocyte interaction with the thymic microenvironment.

【 授权许可】

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