1. Academic Validation
  2. Liver X receptors are required for thymic resilience and T cell output

Liver X receptors are required for thymic resilience and T cell output

  • J Exp Med. 2020 Oct 5;217(10):e20200318. doi: 10.1084/jem.20200318.
Christopher T Chan 1 Ashley M Fenn 1 Nina K Harder 1 John E Mindur 1 Cameron S McAlpine 1 Jyoti Patel 1 Colin Valet 1 Sara Rattik 1 Yoshiko Iwamoto 1 Shun He 1 Atsushi Anzai 1 Florian Kahles 1 Wolfram C Poller 1 Henrike Janssen 1 Lai Ping Wong 2 Carlos Fernandez-Hernando 3 David R Koolbergen 4 Anja M van der Laan 5 Laurent Yvan-Charvet 6 7 Ruslan I Sadreyev 8 Matthias Nahrendorf 1 Marit Westerterp 7 9 Alan R Tall 7 Jan-Ake Gustafsson 10 Filip K Swirski 1
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Center for Systems Biology and Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA.
  • 2 Department of Molecular Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA.
  • 3 Vascular Biology and Therapeutics Program, Department of Comparative Medicine and Pathology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT.
  • 4 Heart Center, Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Amsterdam Universitair Medische Centra, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
  • 5 Heart Center, Department of Cardiology, Amsterdam Universitair Medische Centra, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
  • 6 Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, Université Côte d'Azur, Centre Méditerranéen de Médecine Moléculaire, Atip-Avenir, Fédération Hospitalo-Universitaire Oncoage, Nice, France.
  • 7 Division of Molecular Medicine, Department of Medicine, Columbia University, New York, NY.
  • 8 Department of Molecular Biology and Department of Pathology, Massachusetts General Hospital, and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA.
  • 9 Department of Pediatrics, Section Molecular Genetics, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands.
  • 10 Center for Nuclear Receptors and Cell Signaling, University of Houston, Houston, TX.
Abstract

The thymus is a primary lymphoid organ necessary for optimal T cell development. Here, we show that liver X receptors (LXRs)-a class of nuclear receptors and transcription factors with diverse functions in metabolism and immunity-critically contribute to thymic integrity and function. LXRαβ-deficient mice develop a fatty, rapidly involuting thymus and acquire a shrunken and prematurely immunoinhibitory peripheral T cell repertoire. LXRαβ's functions are cell specific, and the resulting phenotypes are mutually independent. Although thymic macrophages require LXRαβ for Cholesterol efflux, thymic epithelial cells (TECs) use LXRαβ for self-renewal and thymocytes for negative selection. Consequently, TEC-derived LXRαβ protects against homeostatic premature involution and orchestrates thymic regeneration following stress, while thymocyte-derived LXRαβ limits cell disposal during negative selection and confers heightened sensitivity to experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis. These results identify three distinct but complementary mechanisms by which LXRαβ governs T lymphocyte education and illuminate LXRαβ's indispensable roles in adaptive immunity.

Figures
Products