Intercellular Protein Transfer from Thymocytes to Thymic Epithelial Cells

PLoS One. 2016 Mar 29;11(3):e0152641. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0152641. eCollection 2016.

Abstract

Promiscuous expression of tissue restricted antigens (TRAs) in medullary thymic epithelial cells (mTECs) is crucial for negative selection of self-reactive T cells to establish central tolerance. Intercellular transfer of self-peptide-MHC complexes from mTECs to thymic dendritic cells (DCs) allows DCs to acquire TRAs, which in turn contributes to negative selection and regulatory T cell generation. However, mTECs are unlikely to express all TRAs, such as immunoglobulins generated only in B cells after somatic recombination, hyper-mutation, or class-switches. We report here that both mTECs and cortical TECs can efficiently acquire not only cell surface but also intracellular proteins from thymocytes. This reveals a previously unappreciated intercellular sharing of molecules from thymocytes to TECs, which may broaden the TRA inventory in mTECs for establishing a full spectrum of central tolerance.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Epithelial Cells / metabolism*
  • Extracellular Space / metabolism*
  • Hematopoiesis
  • Luminescent Proteins / metabolism
  • Major Histocompatibility Complex
  • Mice, Inbred C57BL
  • Proteins / metabolism*
  • Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell / metabolism
  • Thymocytes / metabolism*
  • Thymus Gland / cytology*

Substances

  • Luminescent Proteins
  • Proteins
  • Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell