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Updated: Feb 8, 2026

A Pipeline to Investigate the Structures and Signaling Pathways of Sphingosine 1-Phosphate Receptors
Published on: June 8, 2022
CCR2 Signal Facilitates Thymic Egress by Priming Thymocyte Responses to Sphingosine-1-Phosphate
Abudureyimujiang Aili1, Jie Zhang1, Jia Wu1
1Department of Immunology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Peking University Health Science Center, Key Laboratory of Medical Immunology, Ministry of Health (Peking University), Beijing, China.
Abstract:
The signal mediated by sphingosine-1-phosphate receptor 1 (S1P1) is essential but seemingly insufficient for thymic export of newly generated T cells. Here, we reported the identification of CCR2 as an additional regulator of this process. CCR2 showed a markedly increased expression in the most mature subset of single-positive (SP) thymocytes. Its deficiency led to a reduction of recent thymic emigrants in the periphery and a simultaneous accumulation of mature SP cells in the thymus. The CCR2 signaling promoted thymic emigration primarily through modulating the chemotactic responses to S1P1 engagement. On the one hand, the chemokinesis induced by CCR2 activation endowed thymocytes with enhanced capacity to respond to S1P-induced migration. On the other hand, CCR2 signaling through Stat3 augmented forkhead box O1 activity, leading to increased expression of S1P1. Taken together, the present study highlights a unique and novel function of CCR2 signaling in the regulation of thymic egress.
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