Distinct populations of eosinophils in the human thymus with capacity to modulate thymocyte maturation

Local differentiation of eosinophil precursors occurs in the human thymus. Thymic eosinophils are often positioned in the corticomedullary junction between the CD4⁺ CD8⁺ double-positive (DP) thymocytes and the CD4⁺ or CD8⁺ single-positive (SP) thymocytes. The aims of this study were to (1) determine if there are distinct thymic eosinophil populations that differ from the blood eosinophil populations and (2) evaluate the capacity of thymic eosinophils to promote the development of SP thymocytes from DP thymocytes. Thymic and blood eosinophils from thymectomized infants (n = 7) were compared regarding the expression of 34 molecules using cytometry by time-of-flight (CyTOF). In addition, FACS-sorted thymic eosinophils were co-cultured with autologous CD3/CD28-stimulated DP, CD4 SP, and CD8 SP thymocytes and analysed by flow cytometry and CyTOF. X-shift clustering analysis and viSNE dimensionality reduction were performed. Seven eosinophil populations were identified within the blood and thymus, respectively, five of which were specific for either tissue. Whereas the blood eosinophil populations varied between individuals, the thymic eosinophil populations were more uniform. The eosinophil-thymocyte co-cultures resulted in (1) an increase in CD4 SP thymocytes when eosinophils were cultured with DP thymocytes, (2) decreased frequency of CD8 SP thymocytes when these were cultured with eosinophils, and (3) a more mature thymic phenotype when eosinophils were cultured with CD4 SP thymocytes. Thymic eosinophils are a specialized population of eosinophils with a distinct phenotype that separates them from their blood counterparts, and in vitro they appear to favour CD4 SP thymocyte development to the detriment of CD8 SP thymocytes.