A model of preferential pairing between epithelial and dendritic cells in thymic antigen transfer

eLife

Richard S Blumberg¹  Tomáš Brabec²  Martina Dobešová²  Dominik Filipp²  Ondřej Ballek²  Matouš Vobořil²  Jasper Manning²  Jan Dobeš³  Jiří Březina³ 

[1] Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Endoscopy, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, United States;Laboratory of Immunobiology, Institute of Molecular Genetics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic;Laboratory of Immunobiology, Institute of Molecular Genetics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic;Department of Cell Biology, Charles University, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic;

关键词: thymus;    central tolerance;    thymic epithelial cells;    dendritic cells;    cooperative antigen transfer;    Mouse;   

DOI  :  10.7554/eLife.71578

来源: eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd

【 摘 要 】

Medullary thymic epithelial cells (mTECs), which produce and present self-antigens, are essential for the establishment of central tolerance. Since mTEC numbers are limited, their function is complemented by thymic dendritic cells (DCs), which transfer mTEC-produced self-antigens via cooperative antigen transfer (CAT). While CAT is required for effective T cell selection, many aspects remain enigmatic. Given the recently described heterogeneity of mTECs and DCs, it is unclear whether the antigen acquisition from a particular TEC subset is mediated by preferential pairing with a specific subset of DCs. Using several relevant Cre-based mouse models that control for the expression of fluorescent proteins, we have found that, in regards to CAT, each subset of thymic DCs preferentially targets a distinct mTEC subset(s). Importantly, XCR1+-activated DC subset represented the most potent subset in CAT. Interestingly, thymic DCs can also acquire antigens from more than one mTEC, and of these, monocyte-derived dendritic cells (moDCs) were determined to be the most efficient. moDCs also represented the most potent DC subset in the acquisition of antigen from other DCs. These findings suggest a preferential pairing model for the distribution of mTEC-derived antigens among distinct populations of thymic DCs.

【 授权许可】

CC BY