title: The thymus and negative selection.
abstract: Self-tolerance induction is largely a reflection of negative selection (deletion) of autoreactive T cells in the thymus. Evidence is presented that negative selection occurs at a relatively late stage of thymocyte differentiation and affects a population of semimature HSA(hi) CD4+8- cells found in the medulla. Negative selection involves a number of cell-surface molecules on T cells, including Fas, CD28, CD5, and CD43. These molecules appear to act in consort, thereby ensuring that negative selection is highly efficient.
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kishimoto
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sprent
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D016693:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, alpha-beta / Q000276:immunology; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D013950:Thymus Gland / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D016693:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell, alpha-beta