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E. Fuertbauer, J. Zaujec, P. Uhrin, I. Raab, M. Weber, H. Schachner, M. Bauer, G. Schütz, B. Binder, M. Sixt, D. Kerjaschki, H. Stockinger:
"Thymic medullar conduits-associated podoplanin promotes naturalregulatory T cells";
Immunology Letters, 154 (2013), 31 - 41.

Podoplanin, a mucin-like plasma membrane protein, is expressed by lymphatic endothelial cells andresponsible for separation of blood and lymphatic circulation through activation of platelets. Here weshow that podoplanin is also expressed by thymic fibroblastic reticular cells (tFRC), a novel thymicmedulla stroma cell type associated with thymic conduits, and involved in development of natural regu-latory T cells (nTreg). Young mice deficient in podoplanin lack nTreg owing to retardation of CD4+CD25+thymocytes in the cortex and missing differentiation of Foxp3+thymocytes in the medulla. This might bedue to CCL21 that delocalizes upon deletion of the CCL21-binding podoplanin from medullar tFRC to cor-tex areas. The animals do not remain devoid of nTreg but generate them delayed within the first monthresulting in Th2-biased hypergammaglobulinemia but not in the death-causing autoimmune phenotypeof Foxp3-deficient Scurfy mice.

Fibroblastic reticular cellsNatural regulatory T cellsThymopoiesisa