Developmental origins of murine T-cell subsets

Murine T cells display diverse responses to pathogens and tumours through early provision of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin-17A (IL-17) and interferon- (IFN-). Although it is now clear that acquisition of these cytokine-secreting effector fates is to a great extent developmentally pre-programmed in the thymus, the stages through which progenitor cells transition, and the underlying mechanistic processes that govern these commitment events, are still largely unclear. Here, we review recent progress in the field, with particular consideration of how TCR- signalling impacts on developmental programmes initiated before TCR- expression.