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Long-Term Retention of Mature NK1.1⁺ NKT Cells in the Thymus¹

Stuart P. Berzins^2,*, Finlay W. McNab^*, Claerwen M. Jones^*, Mark J. Smyth and Dale I. Godfrey^*

^* Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia; and Cancer Immunology Program, Peter MacCallum Cancer Center, East Melbourne, Australia

The NKT cell pool in the thymus contains immature (NK1.1^–) and mature (NK1.1⁺) subsets that represent distinct linear stages of a linear developmental pathway. An unexplained paradox is why immature NK1.1^– NKT cells are mainly exported to the periphery instead of the more mature and more abundant NK1.1⁺ NKT cells. In this study we have determined that mature NK1.1⁺ NKT cells are retained by the thymus to form an extremely long-lived resident population capable of rapid and prolonged production of IFN- and IL-4. The retention of mature NKT cells provides an explanation for why the periphery is mainly seeded by immature NK1.1^– cells despite mature NK1.1⁺ NKT cells being more abundant in the thymus. This is the first study to identify a mature T cell subset retained within the thymus and is additional evidence of the distinct developmental pathways of mainstream T cells and NKT cells.

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The JI 2006 176: 3851-3852. [Full Text]  

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