Phenotypic and functional stages in the intrathymic development of alpha beta T cells.

The thymus is the main site of T-cell maturation. On arrival in the thymus, CD8-CD4- double-negative (DN) T-cell precursors undergo extensive gene rearrangement, phenotypic alteration and biochemical modification to yield the population of thymocytes that undergoes intrathymic selection. The selected mature thymocytes then go on to seed the periphery. In this article Janko Nikolić-Zugić discusses the labyrinthine development that constitutes alpha beta T-cell maturation and selection.