title: The development and function of thymic B cells.
abstract: Thymic B cells are a unique population of B lymphocytes that reside at the cortico-medullary junction of the thymus, an organ that is specialized for the development and selection of T cells. These B cells are distinct from peripheral B cells both in terms of their origin and phenotype. Multiple lines of evidence suggest that they develop within the thymus from B lineage-committed progenitors and are not recirculating peripheral B cells. Furthermore, thymic B cells have a highly activated phenotype. Because of their location in the thymic medulla, they have been thought to play a role in T cell negative selection. Thymic B cells are capable of inducing negative selection in a number of model antigen systems, including viral super antigen, peptides from immunoglobulin, and cognate self antigen presented by B cell receptor-mediated uptake. These findings establish thymic B cells as a novel and important population to study; however, much work remains to be done to understand how all of these unique aspects of thymic B cell biology inform their function.
authors.affiliation: Committee on Immunology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA.
authors.forename: Jason
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Perera
authors.forename: Haochu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Huang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017951:Antigen Presentation; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000502:physiology*; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D019070:Cell Lineage; D006801:Humans; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D051379:Mice; D018448:Models, Immunological; D013950:Thymus Gland / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology
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