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Several unique waves of γδ T cells are generated solely in the fetal/neonatal thymus, whereas additional γδ T cell subsets are generated in adults. One intriguing feature of γδ T cell development is the coordination of differentiation and acquisition of effector function within the fetal thymus; however, it is less clear whether this paradigm holds true in adult animals. In this study, we investigated the relationship between maturation and thymic export of adult-derived γδ thymocytes in mice. In the Rag2pGFP model, immature (CD24 + ) γδ thymocytes expressed high levels of GFP whereas only a minority of mature (CD24 - ) γδ thymocytes were GFP + Similarly, most peripheral GFP + γδ T cells were immature. Analysis of γδ recent thymic emigrants (RTEs) indicated that most γδ T cell RTEs were CD24 + and GFP + , and adoptive transfer experiments demonstrated that immature γδ thymocytes can mature outside the thymus. Mature γδ T cells largely did not recirculate to the thymus from the periphery; rather, a population of mature γδ thymocytes that produced IFN-γ or IL-17 remained resident in the thymus for at least 60 d. These data support the existence of two populations of γδ T cell RTEs in adult mice: a majority subset that is immature and matures in the periphery after thymic emigration, and a minority subset that completes maturation within the thymus prior to emigration. Additionally, we identified a heterogeneous population of resident γδ thymocytes of unknown functional importance. Collectively, these data shed light on the generation of the γδ T cell compartment in adult mice., (Copyright © 2022 by The American Association of Immunologists, Inc.)

T cell development is dependent on the migration of progenitor cells from the bone marrow to the thymus. Upon reaching the thymus, progenitors undergo a complex developmental program that requires inputs from various highly conserved signaling pathways including the Notch and Wnt pathways. To date, Ras signaling has not been implicated in the very earliest stages of T cell differentiation, but members of a family of Ras activators called RasGRPs have been shown to be involved at multiple stages of T cell development. We examined early T cell development in mice lacking RasGRP1, RasGRP3, and RasGRPs 1 and 3. We report that RasGRP1- and RasGRP3-deficient thymi show significantly reduced numbers of early thymic progenitors (ETPs) relative to wild type thymi. Furthermore, RasGRP1/3 double-deficient thymi show significant reductions in ETP numbers compared with either RasGRP1 or RasGRP3 single-deficient thymi, suggesting that both RasGRP1 and RasGRP3 regulate the generation of ETPs. In addition, competitive bone marrow chimera experiments reveal that RasGRP1/3 double-deficient progenitors intrinsically generate ETPs less efficiently than wild type progenitors. Finally, RasGRP1/3-deficient progenitors show impaired migration toward the CCR9 ligand, CCL25, suggesting that RasGRP1 and RasGRP3 may regulate progenitor entry into the thymus through a CCR9-dependent mechanism. These data demonstrate that, in addition to Notch and Wnt, the highly conserved Ras pathway is critical for the earliest stages of T cell development and further highlight the importance of Ras signaling during thymocyte maturation., (Copyright © 2016 by The American Association of Immunologists, Inc.)