Specialized transendothelial dendritic cells mediate thymic T-cell selection against blood-borne macromolecules

Elisabeth H. Vollmann, Kristin Rattay, Olga Barreiro, Aude Thiriot, Rebecca A. Fuhlbrigge, Vladimir Vrbanac, Ki-Wook Kim, Steffen Jung, Andrew M. Tager and Ulrich H. von Andrian ()
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Elisabeth H. Vollmann: Harvard Medical School
Kristin Rattay: Harvard Medical School
Olga Barreiro: Harvard Medical School
Aude Thiriot: Harvard Medical School
Rebecca A. Fuhlbrigge: Harvard Medical School
Vladimir Vrbanac: Massachusetts General Hospital
Ki-Wook Kim: Weizmann Institute of Science
Steffen Jung: Weizmann Institute of Science
Andrew M. Tager: Massachusetts General Hospital
Ulrich H. von Andrian: Harvard Medical School

Nature Communications, 2021, vol. 12, issue 1, 1-19

Abstract: Abstract T cells undergo rigorous selection in the thymus to ensure self-tolerance and prevent autoimmunity, with this process requiring innocuous self-antigens (Ags) to be presented to thymocytes. Self-Ags are either expressed by thymic stroma cells or transported to the thymus from the periphery by migratory dendritic cells (DCs); meanwhile, small blood-borne peptides can access the thymic parenchyma by diffusing across the vascular lining. Here we describe an additional pathway of thymic Ag acquisition that enables circulating antigenic macromolecules to access both murine and human thymi. This pathway depends on a subset of thymus-resident DCs, distinct from both parenchymal and circulating migratory DCs, that are positioned in immediate proximity to thymic microvessels where they extend cellular processes across the endothelial barrier into the blood stream. Transendothelial positioning of DCs depends on DC-expressed CX3CR1 and its endothelial ligand, CX3CL1, and disrupting this chemokine pathway prevents thymic acquisition of circulating proteins and compromises negative selection of Ag-reactive thymocytes. Thus, transendothelial DCs represent a mechanism by which the thymus can actively acquire blood-borne Ags to induce and maintain central tolerance.

Date: 2021
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-26446-x

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