Development of T Lymphocytes

A set of vocabulary flashcards focused on the major concepts and terms related to the development of T lymphocytes in the thymus.

Thymocytes

Immature T cells that develop in the thymus and commit to the T-cell lineage before rearranging their T-cell receptor genes.

Positive selection

The process where T cells that recognize self-MHC molecules receive survival signals in the thymus.

Negative selection

The elimination of T cells that bind too strongly to self-antigens in the thymus.

Double-negative thymocytes

T cells that do not express CD4 or CD8, and are not yet committed to the T-cell lineage.

Thymoproteasome

A thymus-specific proteasome that produces self peptides effective for positive selection.

CD4 T cells

A type of T cell that helps orchestrate the immune response and can differentiate into regulatory T cells.

CD8 T cells

A type of T cell that can differentiate into cytotoxic T lymphocytes, important for killing infected cells.

Involution of the thymus

The process by which thymic tissue decreases and is replaced by fatty tissue with age.

Notch1

A crucial receptor that signals cells along the pathway of T-cell differentiation.

AIRE (Autoimmune Regulator)

A transcription factor that facilitates negative selection in the thymus by transcribing tissue-specific proteins.