Murine thymic stromal lymphopoietin promotes the differentiation of regulatory T cells from thymic CD4+CD8-CD25- naïve cells in a dendritic cell-independent manner

June Yong Lee, Yu Mi Lim, Min Jung Park, So Youn Min, Mi La Cho, Young Chul Sung, Se Ho Park, Ho Youn Kim, Young Gyu Cho

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

19 Scopus citations

Abstract

Human thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) activates dendritic cells (DCs), which promote the proliferation and differentiation of CD4+ T cells. However, murine TSLP (mTSLP) can act directly on CD4+ T cells and bring about their differentiation. We studied the role of mTSLP in the generation of CD4+CD25+FoxP3+ T cells from thymocytes. mTSLP promoted the differentiation of CD4+ single-positive thymocytes into CD4+CD25+FoxP3+ T cells. Although we cannot exclude an effect of TSLP mediated through DCs due to co-stimulatory effects, mTSLP appears to act directly on thymocytes. T-cell receptor and TSLP receptor signaling act synergistically on thymocytes to generate CD4+CD25+FoxP3+ T cells. mTSLP may play an important role in maintaining immune tolerance by promoting the conversion of thymocytes into natural regulatory T cells via escape from negative selection.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)206-213
Number of pages8
JournalImmunology and Cell Biology
Volume86
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 2008

Keywords

  • DCs
  • Negative selection
  • TCR
  • TSLP
  • Treg

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Immunology and Allergy
  • Immunology
  • Cell Biology

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Murine thymic stromal lymphopoietin promotes the differentiation of regulatory T cells from thymic CD4+CD8-CD25- naïve cells in a dendritic cell-independent manner'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this