title: Human thymic dendritic cells: regulators of T cell development in health and HIV-1 infection.
abstract: Thymic dendritic cells (DCs) are a unique subset of bone marrow-derived professional antigen presenting cells (APCs) that interact closely with developing thymocytes and play a crucial role in the process of negative selection and subsequent deletion of potential auto-reactive T cell clones. HIV-1 infection of the thymus has been implicated in the defective regeneration of the CD4(+) T cell pool in infected individuals. Thymic DCs are permissive to infection by HIV-1 and given their important role in T cell development, infected DCs within the thymus may contribute to the depletion of T cells. Here we review the phenotype and function of different DC subsets found within the human thymus and discuss potential mechanisms of how DCs may be important in CD4(+) T cell dysfunction in HIV-1 infection.
authors.affiliation: Monash University, Department of Medicine, Central and Eastern Clinical School, Alfred Campus, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: Vanessa A
authors.initials: VA
authors.lastname: Evans
authors.forename: Paul U
authors.initials: PU
authors.lastname: Cameron
authors.forename: Sharon R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Lewin
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000502:physiology* / Q000821:virology; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D016207:Cytokines / Q000378:metabolism; D003713:Dendritic Cells / Q000502:physiology* / Q000821:virology; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000276:immunology* / Q000821:virology; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D016176:T-Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000502:physiology* / Q000821:virology; D013950:Thymus Gland / Q000276:immunology* / Q000821:virology
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines