[NTR] epithelial cell of palatine tonsil #3673

Preferred term label
epithelial cell of palatine tonsil

Synonyms (add reference(s), please)
tonsillar epithelial cell (exact) — PMID:33995367
tonsil epithelial cell (broad) — PMID:34430822
human tonsil epithelial cell (related) — DOI:10.1101/2021.05.03.442542
VEGFA-positive epithelial cell of the palatine tonsil (narrow) — DOI:10.1126/sciimmunol.abh3768

Definition (free text, with reference(s), please. PubMed ID format is PMID:XXXXXX)
An epithelial cell that is part of the epithelium of the palatine tonsil, a mucosa-associated lymphoid organ of the oropharynx. The palatine tonsil epithelium encompasses two co-existing compartments: a surface stratified squamous epithelium continuous with the oral mucosa, and a specialised reticulated crypt epithelium characterised by a loosely organised structure, incomplete basement membrane, and infiltration by lymphoid cells (PMID:34430822; PMID:30955493). Both compartments express keratins contributing to mechanical integrity (PMID:41518352). This subset is transcriptomically distinguished by elevated VEGFA mRNA expression; the biological basis of this marker is not yet characterised.

Parent cell type term (check the hierarchy here https://www.ebi.ac.uk/ols4/ontologies/cl)
epithelial cell (CL:0000066) — https://www.ebi.ac.uk/ols4/ontologies/cl/classes/http%3A%2F%2Fpurl.obolibrary.org%2Fobo%2FCL_0000066

Anatomical structure where the cell type is found (check Uberon for anatomical structures: https://www.ebi.ac.uk/ols4/ontologies/uberon)
palatine tonsil (UBERON:0002373) — https://www.ebi.ac.uk/ols4/ontologies/uberon/classes/http%3A%2F%2Fpurl.obolibrary.org%2Fobo%2FUBERON_0002373

Your ORCID
[To be added by submitter]

Additional notes or concerns
This term is needed to represent epithelial cells of the human palatine tonsil identified in the Azimuth human_tonsil_v2 single-cell reference atlas (Massoni-Badosa et al., Immunity, 2024; PMID:38301653; DOI:10.1016/j.immuni.2024.01.006); King et al. 2021 used as an upstream starting annotation. No existing CL term covers this anatomical context: searches for tonsil epithelial cell, reticulated epithelial cell, crypt epithelial cell, lymphoepithelial cell, oral epithelial cell, and pharyngeal epithelial cell all returned no results.

The atlas annotation label is "VEGFA+" (elevated VEGFA mRNA by scRNA-seq), but VEGFA is a broadly expressed secreted growth factor, not a cell-type-specific surface marker. No axiom asserting has plasma membrane part or expresses VEGFA is proposed at this stage; these should await protein-level validation in the tonsil compartment specifically.

The tonsil epithelium spans two structurally distinct compartments (Arambula et al., 2021; Roberts et al., 2019; Crowell et al., 2025), and this term intentionally covers both. A CL editor may wish to add two future child terms:

• surface stratified squamous epithelial cell of the palatine tonsil (child of CL:0000240)
• reticulated crypt epithelial cell of the palatine tonsil (child of CL:0000066)

Proposed logical axioms:

• subClassOf 'part of' some 'tonsil epithelium' (UBERON:0013696) [BFO:0000050]
• subClassOf 'capable of part of' some 'mucosal immune response' (GO:0002385) [RO:0002216]

Key references:

• King et al. (2021) — DOI:10.1126/sciimmunol.abh3768 — PMID:34623901 — upstream starting annotation used by the reference atlas; VEGFA as transcriptomic discriminating marker
• Arambula et al. (2021) — DOI:10.1016/j.wjorl.2021.04.003 — PMID:34430822 — tonsil epithelial compartment anatomy
• Roberts et al. (2019) — DOI:10.1098/rstb.2018.0289 — PMID:30955493 — keratin profiles distinguishing surface vs. crypt epithelium
• Crowell et al. (2025) — DOI:10.1002/eji.70121 — PMID:41518352 — spatial transcriptomic map of human tonsil; both compartments confirmed
• Sarmiento Varón et al. (2021) — DOI:10.3389/fimmu.2021.648064 — PMID:33995367 — antigen transport and barrier function of tonsillar epithelium
• Ferris & Westra (2023) — DOI:10.1146/annurev-pathmechdis-031521-041424 — PMID:36693202 — reticulated crypt epithelium specialisation for antigen sampling
• Okda et al. (2021) — DOI:10.1101/2021.05.03.442542 — keratin panel confirming dual-compartment tonsil epithelium

Draft generated by atlas-chat from: projects/Azimuth_v2_tonsil/reports/epithelial_VEGFA.md