Shaping the T-cell repertoire: a matter of life and death

Thymocyte selection aims to shape a T-cell repertoire that, on the one hand, is able to recognize and respond to foreign peptides and, on the other hand, tolerizes the presence of self-peptides in the periphery. Deletion of T cells or their precursors that fail to fulfill these criteria is mainly mediated by the Bcl-2-regulated apoptosis pathway. Absence of T-cell receptor (TCR)-mediated signals or hyperactivation of the TCR by high-affinity self-peptide-major histocompatibility complexes can both trigger apoptotic cell death in developing thymocytes. Notably, TCR-signaling strength also defines survival and outgrowth of the fittest antigen-specific T-cell clones in the periphery. TCR threshold activity leading to such drastically opposing signaling outcomes (life or death) is modulated in part by cytokines and other factors, such as glucocorticoids, that fine-tune the Bcl-2 rheostat, thereby impacting on cell survival. This review aims to highlight the role of Bcl-2-regulated cell death for clonal T-cell selection.