| First Author | Houston EG Jr | Year | 2011 |
| Journal | Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A | Volume | 108 |
| Issue | 13 | Pages | 5366-71 |
| PubMed ID | 21402911 | Mgi Jnum | J:171238 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:4949027 | Doi | 10.1073/pnas.1015286108 |
| Citation | Houston EG Jr, et al. (2011) Recent thymic emigrants are preferentially incorporated only into the depleted T-cell pool. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 108(13):5366-71 |
| abstractText | Recent thymic emigrants (RTEs) are the youngest subset of peripheral T cells, and they differ functionally and phenotypically from the rest of the naive T-cell pool. RTEs are present in the peripheral T-cell pool throughout life but are the most common subset of T cells in neonates and adults recovering from lymphoablation. Using a murine model to study the homeostasis of RTEs, we show that under lymphoreplete conditions, RTEs are at a competitive disadvantage to already established mature naive (MN) T cells. This disadvantage may be caused by a defect in survival, because RTEs may transduce homeostatic signals inefficiently, and their ability to survive is enhanced with increased expression of IL-7 receptor or B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2). Conversely, under lymphopenic conditions, enhanced proliferation by RTEs allows them to out-compete their MN T-cell counterparts. These results suggest that in times of need, such as in neonates or lymphopenic adults, RTEs perform well to fill the gaps in the peripheral T-cell pool, but when the periphery already is full, many RTEs are not incorporated into the pool of recirculating lymphocytes. |
