Abstract
Age-related regression of the thymus is associated with a decline in naïve T cell output. This is thought to contribute to the reduction in T cell diversity seen in older individuals and linked with increased susceptibility to infection, autoimmune disease, and cancer. Thymic involution is one of the most dramatic and ubiquitous changes seen in the aging immune system, but the mechanisms which underlying this process are poorly understood. However, a picture is emerging, implicating the involvement of both extrinsic and intrinsic factors. In this review we assess the role of the thymic microenvironment as a potential target that regulates thymic involution, question whether thymocyte development in the aged thymus is functionally impaired, and explore the kinetics of thymic involution.
Highlights
Age-related regression of the thymus is associated with a decline in naïveT cell output.This is thought to contribute to the reduction inT cell diversity seen in older individuals and linked with increased susceptibility to infection, autoimmune disease, and cancer
Infection and Immunity Group, Department of Comparative Biomedical Sciences, Royal Veterinary College, University of London, London, UK
Given that the thymus requires the continual input of bone marrow progenitors, any age-related alterations in hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) function could conceivably contribute toward thymic involution
Summary
Age-related regression of the thymus is associated with a decline in naïveT cell output.This is thought to contribute to the reduction inT cell diversity seen in older individuals and linked with increased susceptibility to infection, autoimmune disease, and cancer. It is these age-related changes in peripheral T cells that are believed to contribute significantly toward the features of immunosenescence [12, 13], suggesting that the altered thymic activity is a key trigger toward the decline of immune function in the aged [14].
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