The generation of a functional T cell repertoire in the thymus is mainly orchestrated by thymic epithelial cells (TECs), which provide developing T cells with cues for their navigation, proliferation, differentiation and survival. The TEC compartment has been segregated historically into two major populations of medullary TECs and cortical TECs, which differ in their anatomical localization, molecular characteristics and functional roles. However, recent studies have shown that TECs are highly heterogeneous and comprise multiple subpopulations with distinct molecular and functional characteristics, including tuft cell-like or corneocyte-like phenotypes. Here, we review the most recent advances in our understanding of TEC heterogeneity from a molecular, functional and developmental perspective. In particular, we highlight the key insights that were recently provided by single-cell genomic technologies and in vivo fate mapping and discuss them in the context of previously published data.

中文翻译：

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胸腺上皮细胞异质性：TEC by TEC。

胸腺中功能性T细胞库的产生主要是由胸腺上皮细胞（TECs）精心安排的，胸腺上皮细胞（TECs）为发育中的T细胞提供了其航行，增殖，分化和存活的线索。从历史上讲，TEC隔室被分为两个主要的髓质TEC和皮质TEC，它们的解剖学定位，分子特征和功能作用各不相同。然而，最近的研究表明，TECs具有高度异质性，并包含具有不同分子和功能特征的多个亚群，包括簇状细胞样或角质细胞样表型。在这里，我们从分子，功能和发展的角度回顾了我们对TEC异质性理解的最新进展。特别是，