Molecular and cellular basis of T cell lineage commitment.
The thymus forms as an alymphoid thymic primordium with T cell differentiation requiring the seeding of this anlage. This review will focus on the characteristics of the hematopoietic progenitors which colonize the thymus and their subsequent commitment/differentiation, both in mice and men. Within the thymus, the interplay between Notch1 and IL-7 signals is crucial for the orchestration of T cell development, but the precise requirements for these factors in murine and human thympoeisis are not synonymous. Recent advances in our understanding of the mechanisms regulating precursor entry and their maintenance in the thymus will also be presented.
Vicente
Rita
R
Institut de Génétique Moléculaire de Montpellier, CNRS UMR 5535/IFR 122, 34293 Montpellier Cedex 5, France.
Swainson
Louise
L
Marty-Grès
Sophie
S
De Barros
Stéphanie C
SC
Kinet
Sandrina
S
Zimmermann
Valérie S
VS
Taylor
Naomi
N
D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D019070:Cell Lineage; D006801:Humans; D015851:Interleukin-7 / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D051881:Receptor, Notch1 / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000166:cytology* / Q000276:immunology*
D015851:Interleukin-7; D051881:Receptor, Notch1