Bcl-2 Is Necessary to Counteract Bim and Promote Survival of TCRαβ⁺CD8αα⁺ Intraepithelial Lymphocyte Precursors in the Thymus.

ABSTRACT: The precursors of TCRαβ⁺CD8αα⁺ intraepithelial lymphocytes (IEL) arise in the thymus through a complex process of agonist selection. We and others have shown that the proapoptotic protein, Bim, is critical to limit the number of thymic IEL precursors (IELp), as loss of Bim at the CD4⁺CD8⁺ double-positive stage of development drastically increases IELp. The factors determining this cell death versus survival decision remain largely unknown. In this study, we used CD4CreBcl2^f/f mice to define the role of the antiapoptotic protein Bcl-2 and CD4CreBcl2^f/fBim^f/f mice to determine the role of Bcl-2 in opposing Bim to promote survival of IELp. First, in wild-type mice, we defined distinct subpopulations within PD-1⁺

SUBMITTER: Shanmuganad S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8982985 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature