Csaba György
Genetikai, Sejt- és Immunbiológiai Intézet, Semmelweis Egyetem, Általános Orvostudományi Kar Budapest, Pf. 370, 1445.
Orv Hetil. 2016 Jul 3;157(27):1065-70. doi: 10.1556/650.2016.30486.
Thymus is an immunoendocrine organ, the hormones of which mainly influence its own lymphatic elements. It has a central role in the immune system, the neonatal removal causes the collapse of immune system and the whole organism. The thymic nurse cells select the bone marrow originated lymphocytes and destroy the autoreactive ones, while thymus originated Treg cells suppress the autoreactive cells in the periphery. The involution of the organ starts after birth, however, this truly happens in the end of puberty only, as before this it is overcompensated by developmental processes. From the end of adolescence the involution allows the life, proliferation and enhanced functioning of some autoreactive cells, which gradually wear down the cells and intercellular materials, causing the aging. The enhanced and mass function of autoreactive cells lead to the autoimmune diseases and natural death. This means that the involution of thymus is not a part of the organismic involution, but an originator of it, which is manifested in the lifespan-pacemaker function. Thus, aging can be conceptualized as a thymus-commanded slow autoimmune process. The neonatal removal of pineal gland leads to the complete destruction of the thymus and the crashing down of the immune system, as well as to wasting disease. The involution of the pineal and thymus runs parallel, because the two organs form a functional unit. It is probable that the pineal gland is responsible for the involution of thymus and also regulates its lifespan determining role. However, the data reviewed here do not prove the exclusive role of the pineal-thymus system in the regulation of aging and lifespan, but only call attention to such possibility.
胸腺是一个免疫内分泌器官，其分泌的激素主要影响自身的淋巴成分。它在免疫系统中起核心作用，新生儿期切除胸腺会导致免疫系统和整个机体的崩溃。胸腺哺育细胞筛选出源自骨髓的淋巴细胞并破坏自身反应性淋巴细胞，而源自胸腺的调节性T细胞则在外周抑制自身反应性细胞。该器官的退化在出生后就开始了，但实际上直到青春期结束才真正发生，因为在此之前它会被发育过程过度补偿。从青春期结束开始，退化使得一些自身反应性细胞得以存活繁衍并功能增强，这些细胞逐渐损耗细胞和细胞间物质，从而导致衰老。自身反应性细胞功能增强和大量增殖会引发自身免疫性疾病并导致自然死亡。这意味着胸腺的退化并非机体退化的一部分，而是机体退化的起因，这体现在其作为寿命起搏器的功能上。因此，衰老可被概念化为一个由胸腺主导的缓慢自身免疫过程。新生儿期切除松果体导致胸腺完全破坏、免疫系统崩溃以及消瘦病。松果体和胸腺的退化是并行的，因为这两个器官构成一个功能单元。松果体很可能是胸腺退化的原因，并且还调节其决定寿命的作用。然而，这里所回顾的数据并未证明松果体 - 胸腺系统在衰老和寿命调节中具有唯一作用，而只是提醒人们注意这种可能性。
