Thymic Determinants of γδ T Cell Differentiation

Publication date: Available online 9 March 2017
Source:Trends in Immunology
Author(s): Miguel Muñoz-Ruiz, Nital Sumaria, Daniel J. Pennington, Bruno Silva-Santos
γd T cells have emerged as major sources of the proinflammatory cytokines interleukin-17 (IL-17) and interferon-γ (IFNγ) in multiple models of infection, cancer and autoimmune disease. However, unlike their αβ T cell counterparts that require peripheral activation for effector cell differentiation, γδ T cells instead can be 'developmentally programmed' in the thymus to generate discrete γδ T cell effector subsets with distinctive molecular signatures. Nonetheless, recent studies have presented conflicting viewpoints on the signals involved in thymic γδ T cell development and differentiation, namely on the role of both T cell receptor (TCR)-dependent and TCR-independent factors. Here we review the current data and the ongoing controversies.



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