Muro Ryunosuke, Nitta Takeshi
Division of Molecular Pathology, Research Institute for Biomedical Sciences, Tokyo University of Science, Chiba, Japan.
Immunol Rev. 2025 Jul;332(1):e70040. doi: 10.1111/imr.70040.
The thymus is a primary lymphoid organ for generating a diverse yet self-tolerant T cell repertoire. Among the thymic stromal cells that create the thymic microenvironment, thymic epithelial cells (TECs) have received the most attention because of their distinctive functions in the repertoire selection of T cells. Other types of thymic stromal cells, such as fibroblasts and endothelial cells, have been less studied, and thus their thymus-specific nature and functions remain unclear. Recent advances in single-cell technologies, multicolor flow cytometry, and sophisticated mouse models have enabled the identification not only of TECs but also of non-TEC stromal cell diversity and the characterization of these cell subpopulations. This review provides a state-of-the-art overview of the thymic microenvironment, focusing on the development and functional diversity of TECs and non-TEC stromal cells. In particular, the recently discovered role of non-TEC stromal cells in thymic organogenesis, T cell selection, and involution and regeneration of the postnatal thymus is highlighted.
胸腺是一个主要的淋巴器官，用于产生多样化且自身耐受的T细胞库。在构成胸腺微环境的胸腺基质细胞中，胸腺上皮细胞（TECs）因其在T细胞库选择中的独特功能而受到最多关注。其他类型的胸腺基质细胞，如成纤维细胞和内皮细胞，研究较少，因此它们的胸腺特异性性质和功能仍不清楚。单细胞技术、多色流式细胞术和复杂小鼠模型的最新进展，不仅能够识别TECs，还能识别非TEC基质细胞的多样性，并对这些细胞亚群进行表征。本综述提供了胸腺微环境的最新概述，重点关注TECs和非TEC基质细胞的发育和功能多样性。特别是，强调了非TEC基质细胞在胸腺器官发生、T细胞选择以及出生后胸腺退化和再生中的最新发现作用。
