200 million thymocytes and I: A beginner's survival guide to T cell development

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.