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The alarmin IL33 marks a thymocyte dependent shift in the makeup of cortical thymic epithelial cells

Overview

Authors: Andrea J White1, Sonia M Parnell1, Fabrina M Gaspal1, Andrea Bacon1, Nahim A Nurjahan1, William E Jenkinson1, Graham Anderson1, Kieran D James1
  1. Department of Immunology and Immunotherapy, School of Infection, Inflammation and Immunology, College of Medicine and Health, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom
Journal: Frontiers in immunology, volume 17, article 1974594
Dates: received 21 August 2026; accepted 12 October 2026; published online 27 October 2026
Type: Brief report · Language: English
License: CC BY
Identifiers: DOI · PMCID PMC13748432
Status: data only (how the code is found and verified)
Categories: cellular / molecular (subfield)
Methods: Statistics
Keywords: cTEC, IL33, thymic epithelial cell, thymocyte, thymus
Citations: not cited yet (Europe PMC); 51 references in the paper

Abstract

Functional competence in the adaptive immune system requires the generation of αβT-cells in the thymus, where thymic epithelial cells (TEC) drive thymocyte development. Roles for cortical thymic epithelial cells (cTEC) include the generation of CD4+CD8+ thymocytes, and positive selection of cells capable of self-peptide/MHC recognition. Recently, we showed that, in the adult thymus, cTEC consist of two distinct subsets, Foxn1+ typical and Foxn1- atypical cells. While typical cTEC regulate thymopoiesis through their expression of Psmb11, Cxcl12 and Dll4, the developmental requirements and properties of atypical cTEC remain undefined. Here, we show atypical cTEC downregulate the expression of multiple genes controlling antigen processing and presentation for positive selection including Psmb11, Cd83, Prss16, and Ctsl. In addition, we show atypical cTEC acquire a distinct gene profile including the chemokines Ccl9 and Ccl11 together with the alarmin Il33 that plays an essential role in thymic repair following injury. Using precursor-product analysis and Cxcl12/Il33 dual reporter mice, we show Il33-expressing atypical cTEC can be generated from typical cTEC that lack Il33 expression, a process which depends upon progression beyond the pre-TCR-mediated checkpoint. Together, these data define thymocyte-dependent changes in the adult cTEC compartment and suggest atypical cTEC may acquire functional properties that are distinct from their typical cTEC counterparts, including the possibility of acting as an additional source of IL33 in pathways of thymic regeneration.

Reproduced under the paper's license (CC BY), from the paper cited above.

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Data

Datasets cited

Data availability statement

Bulk RNA sequencing data from atypical and typical cTEC subsets are available at the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO; accession number GSE205940 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/geo/query/acc.cgi?acc=GSE205940) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/geo/query/acc.cgi?acc=GSE205940).

Reproduced under the paper's license (CC BY), from the paper cited above.

Versions

The history of this record: each version stored by the harvester or made by a correction of its authors or of the maintainers of its code, and what changed in its facts. The texts of the paper (its abstract, its availability statements) are not part of it; versions that changed only those are not listed.

Version 1, 12 November 2026: the first record

Recorded: type, language, journal, volume, pages, dates, 8 authors, 5 keywords, 51 references.

Cite

This paper

White, A. J., Parnell, S. M., Gaspal, F. M., Bacon, A., Nurjahan, N. A., Jenkinson, W. E., Anderson, G., & James, K. D. (2026). The alarmin IL33 marks a thymocyte dependent shift in the makeup of cortical thymic epithelial cells. Frontiers in immunology, 17, 1974594.

BibTeX

@article{white2026alarmin,
author = {White, Andrea J and Parnell, Sonia M and Gaspal, Fabrina M and Bacon, Andrea and Nurjahan, Nahim A and Jenkinson, William E and Anderson, Graham and James, Kieran D},
title = {{The alarmin IL33 marks a thymocyte dependent shift in the makeup of cortical thymic epithelial cells}},
journal = {Frontiers in immunology},
year = {2026},
month = nov,
volume = {17},
pages = {1974594},
publisher = {Frontiers Media SA},
issn = {1664-3224},
pmcid = {PMC13748432}
}

RIS

TY - JOUR
AU - White, Andrea J
AU - Parnell, Sonia M
AU - Gaspal, Fabrina M
AU - Bacon, Andrea
AU - Nurjahan, Nahim A
AU - Jenkinson, William E
AU - Anderson, Graham
AU - James, Kieran D
TI - The alarmin IL33 marks a thymocyte dependent shift in the makeup of cortical thymic epithelial cells
T2 - Frontiers in immunology
J2 - Front Immunol
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/11/11
VL - 17
SP - 1974594
SN - 1664-3224
PB - Frontiers Media SA
LA - en
ER -

CSL-JSON

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