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Updated: Jun 8, 2026

Examination of Thymic Positive and Negative Selection by Flow Cytometry
Published on: October 8, 2012
Dysregulation of thymic clonal deletion and the escape of autoreactive T cells
Charles J Kroger1, Rafael R Flores, Maurice Morillon
1Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of North Carolina, Mary Ellen Jones Bldg., Room 635, Campus Box 7290, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7290, USA.
Abstract:
Events ongoing in the thymus are critical for deleting developing thymocytes specific for tissue antigens, and establishing self-tolerance within the T cell compartment. Aberrant thymic negative selection, however, is believed to generate a repertoire with increased self-reactivity, which in turn can contribute to the development of T cell-mediated autoimmunity. In this review, mechanisms that regulate the efficacy of negative selection and influence the deletion of autoreactive thymocytes will be discussed.
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