| First Author | Georgiev H | Year | 2021 |
| Journal | Nat Commun | Volume | 12 |
| Issue | 1 | Pages | 2308 |
| PubMed ID | 33863906 | Mgi Jnum | J:317587 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:6713721 | Doi | 10.1038/s41467-021-22589-z |
| Citation | Georgiev H, et al. (2021) Classical MHC expression by DP thymocytes impairs the selection of non-classical MHC restricted innate-like T cells. Nat Commun 12(1):2308 |
| abstractText | Conventional T cells are selected by peptide-MHC expressed by cortical epithelial cells in the thymus, and not by cortical thymocytes themselves that do not express MHC I or MHC II. Instead, cortical thymocytes express non-peptide presenting MHC molecules like CD1d and MR1, and promote the selection of PLZF(+) iNKT and MAIT cells, respectively. Here, we report an inducible class-I transactivator mouse that enables the expression of peptide presenting MHC I molecules in different cell types. We show that MHC I expression in DP thymocytes leads to expansion of peptide specific PLZF(+) innate-like (PIL) T cells. Akin to iNKT cells, PIL T cells differentiate into three functional effector subsets in the thymus, and are dependent on SAP signaling. We demonstrate that PIL and NKT cells compete for a narrow niche, suggesting that the absence of peptide-MHC on DP thymocytes facilitates selection of non-peptide specific lymphocytes. |
