The roles and perspectives of YY1 in immune central tolerance establishment

Abstract

Thymic epithelial cells (TEC) drive the proper differentiation of thymocytes for generating self-tolerant naïve T cells. TEC are functionally heterogeneous, as revealed by advancements in single-cell technologies, the development of new mouse models, and the examination of mouse, human, and zebrafish samples. While multiple cell-intrinsic regulators of TEC have been identified, many remain to be discovered. A comprehensive molecular characterization of each TEC subset and, ultimately, of all TECs, will help to develop strategies for their therapeutic modulation. Here, we review the potential role of the multifunctional transcription factor YY1 in thymus development and function, with a focus on TEC.