Promiscuous gene expression and central T-cell tolerance: more than meets the eye
Promiscuous gene expression and central T-cell tolerance: more than meets the eye
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DOI：
10.1016/s1471-4906(02)02248-2
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发表时间：
2002-07-01
影响因子：
16.8
通讯作者：
Klein, L
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Kyewski, B;Derbinski, J;Klein, L
T细胞的自身耐受是通过多种机制在胸腺(“中枢耐受”)和外周淋巴和非淋巴器官(“外周耐受”)中调节的。基于最近的发现，组织特异性基因通常在胸腺中表达，这种严格的划分已经模糊了。胸腺髓质上皮细胞被认为是一种独特的细胞类型，它以“杂乱”的方式表达广泛的组织特异性基因，并展示这些自身抗原用于胸腺内的选择。杂乱表达的基因阵列看起来是随机的，而不是特定选择的结果。这种耐受机制的得失对自身免疫有重要影响。
Self-tolerance of the T-cell repertoire is mediated by multiple mechanisms operating both in the thymus ('central tolerance') and in peripheral lymphoid and non-lymphoid organs ('peripheral tolerance'). Based on the recent finding that tissue-specific genes are commonly expressed in the thymus, this strict delineation has been blurred. Medullary thymic epithelial cells have been identified as a unique cell type that expresses a wide range of tissue-specific genes in a 'promiscuous' manner and displays these self-antigens for intrathymic repertoire selection. The array of promiscuously expressed genes appears random rather than the result of specific selection. The gains and pitfalls of this tolerance mechanism have important implications for autoimmunity.