T cells are part of the adaptive immune system have critical roles in pathogens and tumour immunity. These cells can be broadly divided into αβ and γδ T cells. We know that both lineages develop in the thymus from multipotent precursors. However, although we have good understanding of the αβ developmental pathway, γδ development remains poorly understood. In particular, we still do not know if their development depends on interactions with thymic antigen presenting cells, like αβ development. This project will investigate if developing γδ T cells do indeed interact with antigen presenting cells using novel cell-cell interaction techniques developed by the lab. Furthermore, the requirement of these interactions will be investigated using genetically modified mouse models with dendritic cell perturbations.
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