Journal
NATURE IMMUNOLOGY
Volume 11, Issue 6, Pages 512-U80Publisher
NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP
DOI: 10.1038/ni.1874
Keywords
-
Categories
Funding
- Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft [KL 1228/3-1, SFB 455, VO 944/2-2]
- Austrian National Science Fund [SFB23]
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Medullary thymic epithelial cells (mTECs) serve an essential function in central tolerance by expressing peripheral-tissue antigens. These antigens may be transferred to and presented by dendritic cells (DCs). Therefore, it is unclear whether mTECs, in addition to being an antigen reservoir, also serve a mandatory function as antigen-presenting cells. Here we diminished major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II on mTECs through transgenic expression of a 'designer' microRNA specific for the MHC class II transactivator CIITA (called 'C2TA' here). This resulted in an enlarged polyclonal CD4(+) single-positive compartment and, among thymocytes specific for model antigens expressed in mTECs, enhanced selection of regulatory T cells (T-reg cells) at the expense of deletion. Our data document an autonomous contribution of mTECs to both dominant and recessive mechanisms of CD4(+) T cell tolerance and support an avidity model of T-reg cell development versus deletion.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available