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Could cross‐reactivity rescue Foxp3+ regulatory T cell precursors from thymic deletion?
Author(s) -
Usharauli David,
Kamala Tirumalai
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
scandinavian journal of immunology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.934
H-Index - 88
eISSN - 1365-3083
pISSN - 0300-9475
DOI - 10.1111/sji.12940
Subject(s) - foxp3 , biology , antigen , immunology , microbiology and biotechnology , immune system , t cell , major histocompatibility complex , cross reactivity , reactivity (psychology) , cross reactions , medicine , alternative medicine , pathology
Thymocytes that bind with high affinity to peptides displayed by MHC class II (pMHC‐II) are deleted while low‐affinity binders differentiate into naive CD4+ T cells. However, Foxp3+ regulatory T cells (Tregs) seem to defy this binary choice as their precursors require high‐affinity interaction with pMHC‐II for maturation in the thymus. Here, we rely on the antigen‐specific interpretive framework, SPIRAL ( Sp ecific I mmuno R egulatory Al gorithm), to propose that Tregs escape thymic deletion by forming dyads with IL‐2‐producing T cells via antigen cross‐reactivity. This interpretation reconciles contradictions related to Treg ontogeny in the thymus and their role in modulating antigen‐specific immune responses.