The absence of the autoimmune regulator gene (AIRE) impairs the three-dimensional structure of medullary thymic epithelial cell spheroids.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Besides controlling the expression of peripheral tissue antigens, the autoimmune regulator (AIRE) gene also regulates the expression of adhesion genes in medullary thymic epithelial cells (mTECs), an essential process for mTEC-thymocyte interaction for triggering the negative selection in the thymus. For these processes to occur, it is necessary that the medulla compartment forms an adequate three-dimensional (3D) architecture, preserving the thymic medulla. Previous studies have shown that AIRE knockout (KO) mice have a small and disorganized thymic medulla; however, whether AIRE influences the mTEC-mTEC interaction in the maintenance of the 3D structure has been little explored. Considering that AIRE controls cell adhesion genes, we hypothesized that this gene affects

SUBMITTER: Monteleone-Cassiano AC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8952272 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature