β5t-containing thymoproteasome: specific expression in thymic cortical epithelial cells and role in positive selection of CD8+ T cells.

Proteasomes are multisubunit proteolytic complexes that degrade cytoplasmic and nuclear proteins in eukaryotes. Proteasome-dependent proteolysis contributes to various cellular processes, including misfolded protein degradation, signal transduction, and antigen presentation. The thymoproteasome is a form of proteasome that contains the vertebrate-specific catalytic subunit β5t specifically expressed by cortical epithelial cells in the thymus. The thymoproteasome is essential for the positive selection of CD8+ T cells that carry an immunocompetent repertoire of antigen recognition specificity. Here we summarize the structure and expression of the thymoproteasome and discuss how it regulates the positive selection of CD8+ T cells.