RANK Signaling in the Differentiation and Regeneration of Thymic Epithelial Cells

Thymic epithelial cells (TECs) provide essential clues for the proliferation, survival, migration, and differentiation of thymocytes. Recent advances in mouse and human have revealed that TECs constitute a highly heterogeneous cell population with distinct functional properties. Importantly, TECs are sensitive to thymic damages engendered by myeloablative conditioning regimen used for bone marrow transplantation. These detrimental effects on TECs delay de novo T-cell production, which can increase the risk of morbidity and mortality in many patients. Alike that TECs guide the development of thymocytes, reciprocally thymocytes control the differentiation and organization of TECs. These bidirectional interactions are referred to as thymic crosstalk. The tumor necrosis factor receptor superfamily (TNFRSF) member, receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa-B (RANK) and its cognate ligand RANKL have emerged as key players of the crosstalk between TECs and thymocytes. RANKL, mainly provided by positively selected CD4(+) thymocytes and a subset of group 3 innate lymphoid cells, controls mTEC proliferation/differentiation and TEC regeneration. In this review, I discuss recent advances that have unraveled the high heterogeneity of TECs and the implication of the RANK-RANKL signaling axis in TEC differentiation and regeneration. Targeting this cell-signaling pathway opens novel therapeutic perspectives to recover TEC function and T-cell production.