Genetic and epigenetic control of thymus development and function
T cells develop in the thymus where stromal cells provide a unique microenvironment that promotes their development and selection so that naïve T cells exiting to peripheral tissues are purged of reactivity to “Self” specificities but poised to respond to injurious “Non-Self” antigens. Thymic epithelial cells (TECs) constitute an essential component of that environment as they have the unqiue capacity for the promiscuous expression of transcripts that encode proteins which are normally only detected in differentiated organs residing in the periphery (a.k.a. tissue restricted self antigens, TRA). The molecular regulation of TEC development and the cell’s competence for promiscuous gene expression of TRA will be discussed.
Date: 12 October 2017, 11:00 (Thursday, 1st week, Michaelmas 2017)
Venue: NDM Building, Headington OX3 7FZ
Venue Details: Basement seminar room, TDI
Speaker: Georg Hollander
Organising department: Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, Oxford Branch
Organiser: Christina Woodward (Oxford Ludwig Institute, Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford)
Organiser contact email address: christina.woodward@ludwig.ox.ac.uk
Host: Prof Xin Lu (Ludwig Cancer Research, Oxford Branch)
Part of: Ludwig Institute Seminar Series
Topics:
Booking required?: Not required
Audience: Members of the University only
Editor: Christina Woodward