Franchini Antonella, Ottaviani Enzo
Department of Life Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy.
Department of Life Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy.
Gen Comp Endocrinol. 2017 May 15;246:46-50. doi: 10.1016/j.ygcen.2017.03.011. Epub 2017 Mar 18.
From an evolutionary point of view, the thymus is a new organ observed for the first time in fish concomitantly with the appearance of adaptive clonotypical immunity. Hormone and neuropeptide expression was demonstrated in different species suggesting a conserved role of these molecules. An integrated evolution of immune and neuroendocrine responses appears to have been realized by means of the re-use of ancestral material, such as neuroendocrine cells and mediators, to create a thymic microenvironment for the maturation and differentiation of T cells.
从进化的角度来看，胸腺是首次在鱼类中观察到的新器官，它伴随着适应性克隆型免疫的出现而出现。在不同物种中均证实了激素和神经肽的表达，这表明这些分子具有保守作用。免疫和神经内分泌反应的整合进化似乎是通过重新利用祖先物质（如神经内分泌细胞和介质）来实现的，从而为T细胞的成熟和分化创造一个胸腺微环境。
