Abstract
T lymphopoiesis requires settling of the thymus by bone marrow-derived precursors throughout adult life. Progenitor entry into the thymus is selective, but the molecular basis of this selectivity is incompletely understood. The chemokine receptor CCR9 has been demonstrated to be important in this process. However, progenitors lacking CCR9 can still enter the thymus, suggesting a role for additional molecules. Here we report that the chemokine receptor CCR7 is also required for efficient thymic settling. CCR7 is selectively expressed on bone marrow progenitors previously shown to have the capacity to settle the thymus, and CCR7(-/-) progenitors are defective in settling the thymus. We further demonstrate that CCR7 sustains thymic settling in the absence of CCR9. Mice deficient for both CCR7 and CCR9 have severe reductions in the number of early thymic progenitors, and in competitive assays CCR7(-/-)CCR9(-/-) double knockout progenitors are almost completely restricted from thymic settling. However, these mice possess near-normal thymic cellularity. Compensatory expansion of intrathymic populations can account for at least a part of this recovery. Together our results illustrate the critical role of chemokine receptor signaling in thymic settling and help to clarify the cellular identity of the physiologic thymic settling progenitors.