PLX009123

GSE128163: The human fetal thymus generates effector invariant T cells in a Lin28b-dependent manner

• Organsim human
• Type RNASEQ
• Target gene
• Project ARCHS4

In the mouse thymus, invariant T cells are generated at well-defined times during development and acquire effector functions before exiting the thymus. However, whether such thymic programming can occur in human is not known. Here we analyzed human fetal and post-natal thymocytes and investigated the role of hematopoietic-stem-and-precursor-cells (HSPC) in the generation of human T cells. Unlike post-natal thymocytes, fetal thymocytes were functionally programmed (e.g. IFN, granzymes), expressed low levels of terminal-deoxynucleotidyl-transferase (TdT) and were highly enriched for invariant/public germline-encoded CDR3 sequences (TRGV8-TRJP1-CATWDTTGWFKIF, TRDV2-TRDD3-CACDTGGY and TRDV1-TRDD3-CALGELGD, previously shown to be expanded in cytomegalovirus infection) composed of short-homology-repeat-containing gene segments. Furthermore, these unique characteristics were due to an intrinsic property of fetal HSPC caused by high expression of the RNA-binding protein Lin28b. In conclusion, our data indicate that the human fetal thymus generates, in a HSPC/Lin28b-dependent manner, invariant T cells with programmed effector functions. SOURCE: David Vermijlen (dvermijl@ulb.ac.be) - Université Libre de Bruxelles