Differential expression of tissue-restricted antigens among mTEC is associated with distinct autoreactive T cell fates

Medullary thymic epithelial cells (mTEC) contribute to the development of T cell tolerance by expressing and presenting tissue-restricted antigens (TRA), so that developing T cells can assess the self-reactivity of their antigen receptors prior to leaving the thymus. mTEC are a heterogeneous population of cells that differentially express TRA. Whether mTEC subsets induce distinct autoreactive T cell fates remains unclear. Here, we establish bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC)-transgenic mouse lines with biased mTEC(lo) or mTEC(hi) expression of model antigens. The transgenic lines support negative selection of antigen-specific thymocytes depending on antigen dose. However, model antigen expression predominantly by mTEC(lo) supports TCRαβ(+) CD8αα intraepithelial lymphocyte development; meanwhile, mTEC(hi)-restricted expression preferentially induces T(reg) differentiation of antigen-specific cells in these models to impact control of infectious agents and tumor growth. In summary, our data suggest that mTEC subsets may have a function in directing distinct mechanisms of T cell tolerance.