TY - JOUR
T1 - Human thymus regeneration and T cell reconstitution
AU - Legrand, Nicolas
AU - Dontje, Wendy
AU - van Lent, Anja U.
AU - Spits, Hergen
AU - Blom, Bianca
PY - 2007
Y1 - 2007
N2 - The thymus supports the development of T cells throughout life from hematopoietic progenitor cells migrating from the bone marrow. During the early years after birth thymic activity is highest, but progressively declines resulting in diminished naïve T cell output. Underlying causes of thymic involution may be degeneration of the stromal thymic network, providing survival and differentiation factors for developing T cells, or insufficiency of the progenitor cells to home and/or develop in the aged thymus. In young people the reduced thymic output is insignificant, since the peripheral T cell compartment is under compensatory homeostatic control. However, in more or less immunocompromised individuals, including aged people and patients depleted of T cells due to conditioning regimens before bone marrow transplantation or HIV infection, the thymus is necessary to replenish the peripheral T cell compartment. This may require rejuvenation of the thymus. Alternatively, approaches to generate mature T cells independent of the thymus have gained considerable interest
AB - The thymus supports the development of T cells throughout life from hematopoietic progenitor cells migrating from the bone marrow. During the early years after birth thymic activity is highest, but progressively declines resulting in diminished naïve T cell output. Underlying causes of thymic involution may be degeneration of the stromal thymic network, providing survival and differentiation factors for developing T cells, or insufficiency of the progenitor cells to home and/or develop in the aged thymus. In young people the reduced thymic output is insignificant, since the peripheral T cell compartment is under compensatory homeostatic control. However, in more or less immunocompromised individuals, including aged people and patients depleted of T cells due to conditioning regimens before bone marrow transplantation or HIV infection, the thymus is necessary to replenish the peripheral T cell compartment. This may require rejuvenation of the thymus. Alternatively, approaches to generate mature T cells independent of the thymus have gained considerable interest
U2 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smim.2007.10.001
DO - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smim.2007.10.001
M3 - Review article
C2 - 17997107
SN - 1044-5323
VL - 19
SP - 280
EP - 288
JO - Seminars in Immunology
JF - Seminars in Immunology
IS - 5
ER -