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Review
. 2010 Nov;238(1):12-22.
doi: 10.1111/j.1600-065X.2010.00956.x.

T-cell lineage determination

Qi Yang  1 , J Jeremiah Bell, Avinash Bhandoola
Affiliations
Review

T-cell lineage determination

Qi Yang et al. Immunol Rev. 2010 Nov.

Abstract

T cells originate from hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) in the bone marrow but complete their development in the thymus. HSCs give rise to a variety of non-renewing hematopoietic progenitors, among which a rare subset migrates to the thymus via the bloodstream. The earliest T-cell progenitors identified in the thymus are not T-lineage restricted but possess the ability to give rise to cells of many different lineages. Alternative lineage potentials are gradually lost as progenitors progress toward later developmental stages. Here, we review the early developmental events that might be involved in T-cell lineage fate determination, including the properties of possible thymus-settling progenitors, their homing into the thymus, and their T-cell lineage specification and commitment.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Molecular signals in early T-cell development
Among the many types of bone marrow progenitors, a subset of lymphoid progenitors (LP) expressing CCR9 enters the thymus via the blood. The non-T-lineage potentials are gradually lost through multiple prethymic and intrathymic developmental steps, and T-cell lineage commitment is completed at the intrathymic DN3 stage. The expression patterns of the key cytokine receptors, chemokine receptors, Notch signaling molecules, and Rag recombinase during T-cell lineage commitment are indicated (, , , , , , –, , –129). Abbreviations: HSC, hematopoietic stem cell; MPP, multipotent progenitor; LMPP, lymphoid-primed multipotent progenitor; CLP, common lymphoid progenitor; LP, lymphoid progenitor; TSP, thymus settling progenitor; ETP, early thymic progenitor; DN, double-negative.
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