Generation of self-reactive, shared T-cell receptor α chains in the human thymus.
J Autoimmun
; 119: 102616, 2021 05.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-33652347
ABSTRACT
The T-cell receptor (TCR) repertoire is generated in a semistochastic process of gene recombination and pairing of TCRα to TCRß chains with the estimated total TCR diversity of >108. Despite this high diversity, similar or identical TCR chains are found to recur in immune responses. Here, we analyzed the thymic generation of TCR sequences previously associated with recognition of self- and nonself-antigens, represented by sequences associated with autoimmune diabetes and HIV, respectively. Unexpectedly, in the CD4+ compartment TCRα chains associated with the recognition of self-antigens were generated in significantly higher numbers than TCRα chains associated with the recognition of nonself-antigens. The analysis of the circulating repertoire further showed that these chains are not lost in negative selection nor predominantly converted to the regulatory T-cell lineage. The high abundance of self-reactive TCRα chains in multiple individuals suggests that the human thymus has a predilection to generate self-reactive TCRα chains independently of the HLA-type and that the individual risk of autoimmunity may be modulated by the TCRß repertoire associated with these chains.
Palabras clave
Texto completo:
1
Colección:
01-internacional
Base de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Autoantígenos
/
Timo
/
Autoinmunidad
/
Subgrupos de Linfocitos T
/
Receptores de Antígenos de Linfocitos T alfa-beta
Tipo de estudio:
Etiology_studies
Límite:
Adult
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
Idioma:
En
Revista:
J Autoimmun
Asunto de la revista:
ALERGIA E IMUNOLOGIA
Año:
2021
Tipo del documento:
Article