.png){kind=icon}
Return
Transposable elements regulate thymus development and function
.png){kind=icon}
OA
AI
DOI：10.7554/eLife.91037.png)
.png){kind=icon}
Original request for help.png){kind=icon}
Share.png){kind=icon}
Save
Abstract
En 中文
Transposable elements (TEs) are repetitive sequences representing similar to 45% of the human and mouse genomes and are highly expressed by medullary thymic epithelial cells (mTECs). In this study, we investigated the role of TEs on T-cell development in the thymus. We performed multiomic analyses of TEs in human and mouse thymic cells to elucidate their role in T-cell development. We report that TE expression in the human thymus is high and shows extensive age- and cell lineage-related variations. TE expression correlates with multiple transcription factors in all cell types of the human thymus. Two cell types express particularly broad TE repertoires: mTECs and plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs). In mTECs, transcriptomic data suggest that TEs interact with transcription factors essential for mTEC development and function (e.g., PAX1 and REL), and immunopeptidomic data showed that TEs generate MHC-I-associated peptides implicated in thymocyte education. Notably, AIRE, FEZF2, and CHD4 regulate small yet non-redundant sets of TEs in murine mTECs. Human thymic pDCs homogenously express large numbers of TEs that likely form dsRNA, which can activate innate immune receptors, potentially explaining why thymic pDCs constitutively secrete IFN alpha/beta. This study highlights the diversity of interactions between TEs and the adaptive immune system. TEs are genetic parasites, and the two thymic cell types most affected by TEs (mTEcs and pDCs) are essential to establishing central T-cell tolerance. Therefore, we propose that orchestrating TE expression in thymic cells is critical to prevent autoimmunity in vertebrates.
Keywords:
transposable elements
thymus
central tolerance
thymic epithelial cells
plasmacytoid dendritic cells
Journal
IF:
0
Papers:
1.8W
Citations:
16
Organization
View more organizations
Cited Papers
ShareSaveShareSaveLate stages of T cell maturation in the thymus involve NF-κB and tonic type I interferon signaling.png)
NATURE IMMUNOLOGY
OAAI
NATURE IMMUNOLOGYIF27.6
OAAIShareSaveShareSaveShareSaveWidespread and tissue-specific expression of endogenous retroelements in human somatic tissuesGENOME MEDICINEOAAI
GENOME MEDICINEIF11.2
OAAIShareSaveShareSave View more