Mesenchymal Stem Cell Therapy Produces Thymus Regrowth in Old Non-Human Primates

Thymocytes generated in the bone marrow migrate to the thymus, near the heart, where they mature into T cells of the adaptive immune system. Unfortunately, the thymus atrophies with age. Most people have little active thymus tissue left by the time they are in their 50s. Absent a robust supply of new T cells, the adaptive immune system becomes ever more made up of malfunctioning, senescent, and other problematic cells, lacking the naive T cells needed to respond to new threats. Regeneration of the thymus is thus an important goal. There are some indications that the thymus is more plastic than thought, given that mild calorie restriction in humans produced some gains. Additionally, a growth hormone based therapy has shown some signs of improvement in small human trials. Here, researchers show that stem cell transplantation can produce thymic regrowth in old non-human primates, making this an option that should be evaluated in human patients. A decrease in the number and activity of thymic epithelial cells (TECs) is an important factor in thymic degeneration. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) treating thymic ageing is a promising strategy. Aged rhesus monkeys were treated with MSCs to establish a thymic senescence model, and hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining, immunofluorescence staining, and ELISA were performed to observe the structure and function of the thymus. TEC aging model and MSCs co-culture system were established to detect DNA methylation modification and transcri...
Source: Fight Aging! - Category: Research Authors: Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs