Thapa Puspa, Farber Donna L
Columbia Center for Translational Immunology, Columbia University Medical Center, 650 West 168th Street, BB1501, New York, NY 10032, USA.
Department of Surgery, Columbia Center for Translational Immunology, Columbia University Medical Center, 650 West 168th Street, BB1501, New York, NY 10032, USA.
Thorac Surg Clin. 2019 May;29(2):123-131. doi: 10.1016/j.thorsurg.2018.12.001. Epub 2019 Mar 7.
The thymus is a primary lymphoid organ essential for the development of T lymphocytes, which orchestrate adaptive immune responses. T-cell development in the thymus is spatially regulated; key checkpoints in T-cell maturation and selection occur in cortical and medullary regions to eliminate self-reactive T cells, establish central tolerance, and export naïve T cells to the periphery with the potential to recognize diverse pathogens. Thymic output is also temporally regulated due to age-related involution of the thymus accompanied by loss of epithelial cells. This review discusses the structural and age-related control of thymus function in humans.
胸腺是T淋巴细胞发育所必需的主要淋巴器官,T淋巴细胞协调适应性免疫反应。胸腺中T细胞的发育受到空间调节;T细胞成熟和选择的关键检查点发生在皮质和髓质区域,以消除自身反应性T细胞,建立中枢耐受性,并将具有识别多种病原体潜力的初始T细胞输出到外周。由于胸腺随年龄增长的退化以及上皮细胞的丧失,胸腺输出也受到时间调节。本文综述了人类胸腺功能的结构和与年龄相关的控制。