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200 Million Thymocytes and I: A Beginner’s Survival Guide to T Cell Development

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T-Cell Development

Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology ((MIMB,volume 1323))

Abstract

T lymphocytes (T cells) are essential for proper adaptive immune responses. They perform a variety of functions in defenses against pathogens, and notably control, positively or negatively, other cells involved in immune responses. T cells develop in the thymus from bone marrow-derived precursors. These precursors (thymocytes) proliferate, rearrange the genes encoding subunits of the T cell antigen receptor, which endow them with their unique antigen specificity, and undergo various degrees of pre-programming for their functions in immune responses. Thus, analyzing T cell development in the thymus is essential for understanding their functions in immune responses. In addition, the thymus constitutes an attractive experimental model to analyze mechanisms of cell proliferation, differentiation and survival, all of which are involved in thymocyte development. This chapter presents a quick overview of the key events characterizing intrathymic T cell development, as an introduction for readers entering this field of study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Immune Cell Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA

    Melanie S. Vacchio, Thomas Ciucci & Rémy Bosselut

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  1. Melanie S. Vacchio
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  2. Thomas Ciucci
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  3. Rémy Bosselut
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Correspondence to Rémy Bosselut .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Immune Cell Biology, National Institutes of Health National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland, USA

    Rémy Bosselut

  2. Laboratory of Immune Cell Biology, National Institutes of Health National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Maryland, USA

    Melanie S. Vacchio

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Vacchio, M.S., Ciucci, T., Bosselut, R. (2016). 200 Million Thymocytes and I: A Beginner’s Survival Guide to T Cell Development. In: Bosselut, R., S. Vacchio, M. (eds) T-Cell Development. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 1323. Humana Press, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-2809-5_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-2809-5_1

  • Publisher Name: Humana Press, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4939-2808-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4939-2809-5

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