Identifying a Stem Cell Population in the Adult Thymus

Researchers here report on the characterization of a stem cell population in the adult thymus that gives rise to the thymic epithelial cells that allow the thymus to host the development of T cells of the adaptive immune system. This is of interest because the thymus atrophies with age, losing active thymic epithelial tissue. The supply of new T cells provided to the immune system diminishes greatly as a consequence, and this is a major contributing factor in the age-related decline of immune function. It is the case that cell therapy approaches are one of the potential ways in which an aged thymus might be regenerated, and the discovery of a stem cell population associated with this tissue can only help these efforts. The thymus is necessary for lifelong immunological tolerance and immunity. It displays a distinctive epithelial complexity and undergoes age-dependent atrophy. Nonetheless, it also retains regenerative capacity, which, if harnessed appropriately, might permit rejuvenation of adaptive immunity. By characterizing cortical and medullary compartments in the human thymus at single-cell resolution, in this study we have defined specific epithelial populations, including those that share properties with bona fide stem cells (SCs) of lifelong regenerating epidermis. Thymic epithelial SCs display a distinctive transcriptional profile and phenotypic traits, including pleiotropic multilineage potency, to give rise to several cell types that were not previo...
Source: Fight Aging! - Category: Research Authors: Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs