SpringerProtocols: Abstract: Thymus Organogenesis and Development of the Thymic Stroma

Thymus Organogenesis and Development of the Thymic Stroma

By: Craig S. Nowell², Alison M. Farley², C. Clare Blackburn²

Abstract

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T-cell development occurs principally in the thymus. Here, immature progenitor cells are guided through the differentiation and selection steps required to generate a complex T-cell repertoire that is both self-tolerant and has propensity to bind self major histocompatibility complex. These processes depend on an array of functionally distinct epithelial cell types within the thymic stroma, which have a common developmental origin in the pharyngeal endoderm. Here, we describe the structural and phenotypic attributes of the thymic stroma, and review current cellular and molecular understanding of thymus organogenesis.

Affiliation(s): (2) Institute for Stem Cell Research, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK

Book Title: Immunological Tolerance: Methods and Protocols

Series: Methods in Molecular Biology | Volume: 380 | Pub. Date: Jun-08-2007 | Page Range: 125-162 | DOI: 10.1007/978-1-59745-395-0_8

Subject: Immunology

Key Words: Thymus - endoderm - thymic epithelium - epithelium - organogenesis - patterning - stem cell - progenitor cell - Foxn1

References

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