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Thymic Development and Selection of T Lymphocytes pp 1–17Cite as

Development and Function of Cortical Thymic Epithelial Cells

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Part of the book series: Current Topics in Microbiology and Immunology ((CT MICROBIOLOGY,volume 373))

Abstract

The thymic cortex provides a microenvironment that supports the generation and T cell antigen receptor (TCR)-mediated selection of CD4+CD8+TCRαβ+ thymocytes. Cortical thymic epithelial cells (cTECs) are the essential component that forms the architecture of the thymic cortex and induces the generation as well as the selection of newly generated T cells. Here we summarize current knowledge on the development, function, and heterogeneity of cTECs, focusing on the expression and function of β5t, a cTEC-specific subunit of the thymoproteasome.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research from MEXT and JSPS (grant numbers 23249025 and 24111004).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Experimental Immunology, Institute for Genome Research, University of Tokushima, 3-18-15 Kuramoto, Tokushima, 770-8503, Japan

    Kensuke Takada, Izumi Ohigashi, Michiyuki Kasai, Hiroshi Nakase & Yousuke Takahama

Authors
  1. Kensuke Takada
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  2. Izumi Ohigashi
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  3. Michiyuki Kasai
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  4. Hiroshi Nakase
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  5. Yousuke Takahama
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yousuke Takahama .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Developmental Immunology, Max-Planck-Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics, Freiburg, Germany

    Thomas Boehm

  2. Institute for Genome Research, Division of Experimental Immunology, University of Tokushima, Tokushima, Japan

    Yousuke Takahama

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© 2013 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Takada, K., Ohigashi, I., Kasai, M., Nakase, H., Takahama, Y. (2013). Development and Function of Cortical Thymic Epithelial Cells. In: Boehm, T., Takahama, Y. (eds) Thymic Development and Selection of T Lymphocytes. Current Topics in Microbiology and Immunology, vol 373. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/82_2013_322

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