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  • Review Article
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Cell migration and the control of post-natal T-cell lymphopoiesis in the thymus

Nature Reviews Immunology volume 3, pages 859–866 (2003)Cite this article

Key Points

  • Directional cell migration into and within the post-natal thymus is intricately linked to the T-cell differentiation process.

  • Directional cell migration can be controlled in numerous ways, including: restricting the distribution of ligands for cell adhesion and traction, activating or inactivating receptors for cell adhesion and traction that are expressed by the migrating cells, and differentially localizing the sources of chemoattractant and/or repulsive signals.

  • Additional specificity is provided by expressing unique combinations of adhesion or chemoattractant receptors by progenitors at different stages of development.

Abstract

Similar to all haematopoietic lineages, T cells must be replenished throughout life — a process that is the main function of the thymus. New progenitors are recruited to leave the bloodstream and enter the thymus, then to migrate in a defined pattern within the thymus during differentiation, and finally to return to the blood after maturation. Thereby, directional migration is intrinsically linked to all stages of T-cell differentiation. This review focuses on what is known and what is unknown about the signals that support this migration process in the mouse model of post-natal thymocyte differentiation.

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Figure 1: Cell migration during post-natal T-cell differentiation.
Figure 2: Control of cell movement and location by regionalized distribution of adhesive matrix and/or directional signals.
Figure 3: Adhesive interactions between lymphoid progenitors and stromal cells, and their role in post-natal T-cell differentiation in the thymus.
Figure 4: Multiple mechanisms to regulate medullary localization of positively selected cells.

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Acknowledgements

I would like to express my sincere thanks to Y. Takahama, P. Love and J. Cyster for helpful discussions before submission of the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Developmental Immunology, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, 10021, USA

    Howard T. Petrie

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  1. Howard T. Petrie
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DATABASES

LocusLink

CCL19

CCL22

CCL25

CCR4

CCR9

CD25

CD44

CXCL12

CXCR4

delta-like 1

ICAM1

MADCAM1

VCAM1

FURTHER INFORMATION

Howard Petrie's websites (current)

Howard Petrie's websites (future)

Glossary

LINEAGE POTENTIAL

The lineages that a given progenitor can differentiate into, given the appropriate conditions. This does not necessarily indicate a biologically relevant outcome — that is, the fact that a given progenitor can be induced to generate cells of a specific lineage does not mean that it normally generates cells of that lineage.

LINEAGE COMMITMENT

Irreversible differentiation into a single lineage, concurrent with loss of other lineage potential.

HIGH ENDOTHELIAL VENULES

Specialized blood vessels with columnar endothelium that facilitate constitutive exchange of lymphocytes between the circulation and secondary lymphoid organs.

POSITIVE SELECTION

The maturation of immature CD4+CD8+ precursor thymocytes induced by T-cell receptor (TCR) signals that result from binding to self-peptide–MHC ligands on thymic epithelial cells. This process selects thymocytes that express TCRs that can interact with self-MHC molecules.

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Petrie, H. Cell migration and the control of post-natal T-cell lymphopoiesis in the thymus. Nat Rev Immunol 3, 859–866 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1038/nri1223

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