Single-cell immune profiling reveals thymus-seeding populations, T cell commitment, and multilineage development in the human thymus
Martijn Cordes (Leiden University Medical Center)
Kirsten Canté-Barrett (Leiden University Medical Center)
Erik B. van den Akker (TU Delft - Pattern Recognition and Bioinformatics, Leiden University Medical Center)
Federico A. Moretti (Leiden University Medical Center)
Szymon M. Kiełbasa (Leiden University Medical Center)
Sandra A. Vloemans (Leiden University Medical Center)
Laura Garcia-Perez (Leiden University Medical Center)
Cristina Teodosio (Leiden University Medical Center, University of Salamanca)
Jacques J.M. van Dongen (University of Salamanca, Leiden University Medical Center)
Karin Pike-Overzet (Leiden University Medical Center)
Marcel J.T. Reinders (TU Delft - Pattern Recognition and Bioinformatics, Leiden University Medical Center)
Frank J.T. Staal (Leiden University Medical Center)
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Abstract
T cell development in the mouse thymus has been studied extensively, but less is known regarding T cell development in the human thymus. We used a combination of single-cell techniques and functional assays to perform deep immune profiling of human T cell development, focusing on the initial stages of prelineage commitment. We identified three thymus-seeding progenitor populations that also have counterparts in the bone marrow. In addition, we found that the human thymus physiologically supports the development of monocytes, dendritic cells, and NK cells, as well as limited development of B cells. These results are an important step toward monitoring and guiding regenerative therapies in patients after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.