Weakly self-reactive T-cell clones can homeostatically expand when present at low numbers

T-cell division is central to maintaining a stable T-cell pool in adults. It also enables T-cell expansion in neonates, and after depletion by chemotherapy, bone marrow transplantation, or infection. The same signals required for T-cell survival in lymphoreplete settings, IL-7 and T-cell receptor (TCR) interactions with self-peptide MHC (pMHC), induce division when T-cell numbers are low. The strength of reactivity for self-pMHC has been shown to correlate with the capacity of T cells to undergo lymphopenia-induced proliferation (LIP), in that weakly self-reactive T cells are unable to divide, implying that T-cell reconstitution would significantly skew the TCR repertoire toward TCRs with greater self-reactivity and thus compromise T-cell diversity. Here, we show that while CD4⁺ T cells with low self-pMHC reactivity experience more intense competition, they are able to divide when present at low enough cell numbers. Thus, at physiological precursor frequencies CD4⁺ T cells with low self-pMHC reactivity are able to contribute to the reconstitution of the T-cell pool.