Triggered: How Damage Induced IL-18 Suppresses Thymus Regeneration

The thymus is highly sensitive to acute injury such as the cytoreductive conditioning given pre-hematopoietic cell transplant (HCT). The thymus is capable of a remarkable degree of regeneration, however its reparative capacity and T cell productivity decline with age leaving HCT recipients vulnerable to relapse of malignancy and opportunistic infection. Better understanding endogenous mechanisms of thymus regeneration may inform therapeutic interventions to improve T cell reconstitution in these patients.
Source: Biology of Blood and Marrow Transplantation - Category: Hematology Authors: Tags: 4 Source Type: research