Long-term retention of mature NK1.1+ NKT cells in the thymus
Long-term retention of mature NK1.1+ NKT cells in the thymus
复制标题
DOI：
10.4049/jimmunol.176.7.4059
复制
发表时间：
2006-04-01
影响因子：
4.4
通讯作者：
Godfrey, Dale I.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Berzins, Stuart P.;McNab, Finlay W.;Godfrey, Dale I.
胸腺中的NKT细胞池包含未成熟(NK1.1(-))和成熟(NK1.1(+))亚群，它们代表线性发育途径的不同线性阶段。一个无法解释的悖论是，为什么未成熟的NK1.1-NKT细胞主要输出到外围，而不是更成熟和更丰富的NK1.1(+)NKT细胞。在这项研究中，我们确定成熟的NK1.1(+)NKT细胞被胸腺保留下来，形成一个非常长寿的常驻群体，能够快速而持久地产生干扰素-γ和白介素4。成熟NKT细胞的滞留解释了为什么尽管成熟的NK1.1(+)NKT细胞在胸腺中更为丰富，但胸腺周围主要是未成熟的NK1.1(-)细胞。这是首次发现胸腺内保留的成熟T细胞亚群，也是主流T细胞和NKT细胞不同发育途径的又一证据。
The NKT cell pool in the thymus contains immature (NK1.1(-)) and mature (NK1.1(+)) subsets that represent distinct linear stages of a linear developmental pathway. An unexplained paradox is why immature NK1.1- NKT cells are mainly exported to the periphery instead of the more mature and more abundant NK1.1(+) NKT cells. In this study we have determined that mature NK1.1(+) NKT cells are retained by the thymus to form an extremely long-lived resident population capable of rapid and prolonged production of IFN-gamma and IL-4. The retention of mature NKT cells provides an explanation for why the periphery is mainly seeded by immature NK1.1(-) cells despite mature NK1.1(+) NKT cells being more abundant in the thymus. This is the first study to identify a mature T cell subset retained within the thymus and is additional evidence of the distinct developmental pathways of mainstream T cells and NKT cells.