Thymic development of type-17 innate-like T cells depends on a PTEN-coordinated two-step process linking TCR and IL-23-IL-23R-Stat3 axis

PTEN orchestrates a two-step process downstream of TCR and IL-23-Stat3 signaling to control type-17 innate-like T cell generation. Complete or partial deletion of PTEN led to the massive and selective accumulation of IL-17-producing thymocytes We used microarrays to compare the global transcription profiles of WT, Cd4CrePtenfl/fl, and Cd4CrePten+/fl thymocyte population In total 18 samples were analyzed:pre-selection DP WT (n=3); pre-selection DP Pten-Het (n=3); pre-selection DP Pten-KO (n=3);post-selection DP WT (n=3); post-selection DP Pten-Het (n=3); post-selection DP Pten-KO (n=3)PTEN介导了T细胞受体（T-cell receptor, TCR）与IL-23-Stat3信号通路下游的两步级联反应，进而调控17型固有样T细胞的生成。PTEN的完全或部分敲除可导致产IL-17胸腺细胞出现大规模选择性富集。本研究采用基因芯片（microarray）技术，对比野生型（Wild Type, WT）、Cd4CrePtenfl/fl与Cd4CrePten+/fl胸腺细胞群体的全转录组表达谱。共计分析18份样本：选择前双阳性（Double Positive, DP）野生型样本（n=3）、选择前双阳性Pten杂合敲除样本（n=3）、选择前双阳性Pten完全敲除样本（n=3）；选择后双阳性野生型样本（n=3）、选择后双阳性Pten杂合敲除样本（n=3）以及选择后双阳性Pten完全敲除样本（n=3）