How Naive T-Cell Clone Counts Are Shaped By Heterogeneous Thymic Output and Homeostatic Proliferation.

ABSTRACT: The specificity of T cells is that each T cell has only one T cell receptor (TCR). A T cell clone represents a collection of T cells with the same TCR sequence. Thus, the number of different T cell clones in an organism reflects the number of different T cell receptors (TCRs) that arise from recombination of the V(D)J gene segments during T cell development in the thymus. TCR diversity and more specifically, the clone abundance distribution, are important factors in immune functions. Specific recombination patterns occur more frequently than others while subsequent interactions between TCRs and self-antigens are known to trigger proliferation and sustain naive T cell survival. These processes are TCR-dependent, leading to clone-dependent thymic export and naive T cell proliferation rates.

SUBMITTER: Dessalles R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8891377 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature