CD90 Marks a Mesenchymal Program in Human Thymic Epithelial Cells In Vitro and In Vivo.

ABSTRACT: Thymic epithelium is critical for the structural integrity of the thymus and for T cell development. Within the fully formed thymus, large numbers of hematopoietic cells shape the thymic epithelium into a scaffold-like structure which bears little similarity to classical epithelial layers, such as those observed in the skin, intestine or pancreas. Here, we show that human thymic epithelial cells (TECs) possess an epithelial identity that also incorporates the expression of mesenchymal cell associated genes, whose expression levels vary between medullary and cortical TECs (m/cTECs). Using pluripotent stem cell (PSC) differentiation systems, we identified a unique population of cells that co-expressed the master TEC transcription factor FOXN1, as well as the epithelial associated mark

SUBMITTER: Sun S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8966383 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature