New CCTI paper accepted in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology

Dr. Danzl, et al aimed to generate human thymic epithelial progenitors from human embryonic stem cells (hES-TEPs) and to assess their thymopoietic function in vivo. The results? Cultured hES-TEPs expressed FOXN1 and formed colonies expressing EPCAM and both cortical and medullary thymic epithelial cell markers. In thymectomized immunodeficient mice receiving hHSPCs, hES-TEPs mixed with human thymic mesenchymal cells supported human T-cell development. Hypothesizing that support from non–epithelial thymic cells might allow long-term function of hES-TEPs, the investigators injected them into SwTHY tissue, which supports human thymopoiesis in NOD severe combined immunodeficiency IL2Rγnull mice receiving hHSPCs. hES-TEPs integrated into SwTHY grafts, enhanced human thymopoiesis, and increased peripheral CD4+ naive T-cell reconstitution. Find the full paper at this link: 
https://www.jacionline.org/article/S0091-6749(21)01624-9/fulltext