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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2012 Jul 3.
Published in final edited form as: Nat Immunol. 2010 Jul 20;11(8):666–673. doi: 10.1038/ni.1887

Figure 4. An hypothetical transcriptional network in mature thymocytes and T cells.

Figure 4

Based on analyses in mature T cells, a transcriptional circuitry is proposed in mature thymocytes, that enables expression of IL-7Rα, CCR7 and Klf12, which itself controls thymic egress by increasing expression of the receptor for sphingosine 1-phophate (S1P1), T cell trafficking and quiescence. Foxo1 activity is inhibited by PI-3 kinase-dependent phosphorylation, that promotes its sequestration in the cytosol, contributing to the self-limiting IL-7Rα expression characteristic of mature T cells176. It may also act as a ‘licensing’ factor in the thymus to prevent the release of self reactive thymocytes due to their persistent TCR signaling.