Thymic selection of T-cell receptors as an extreme value problem

TL;DR

This paper models thymic T cell receptor selection as an extreme value problem, providing an analytical expression for the amino acid compositions of selected TCRs, enhancing understanding of immune repertoire formation.

Contribution

It introduces a novel extreme value theory framework to analyze TCR selection, offering an analytical approach to predict amino acid compositions of thymically selected TCRs.

Findings

Analytical expression for amino acid compositions of selected TCRs

Mapping thymic selection to an extreme value problem

Insights into T cell repertoire diversity

Abstract

T lymphocytes (T cells) orchestrate adaptive immune responses upon activation. T cell activation requires sufficiently strong binding of T cell receptors (TCRs) on their surface to short peptides (p) derived from foreign proteins, which are bound to major histocompatibility (MHC) gene products (displayed on antigen presenting cells). A diverse and self-tolerant T cell repertoire is selected in the thymus. We map thymic selection processes to an extreme value problem and provide an analytic expression for the amino acid compositions of selected TCRs (which enable its recognition functions).