Bockman D E
Department of Cellular Biology and Anatomy, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta 30912-2000, USA.
Microsc Res Tech. 1997 Aug 1;38(3):209-15. doi: 10.1002/(SICI)1097-0029(19970801)38:3<209::AID-JEMT2>3.0.CO;2-H.
Proper development of the thymus is critical for an individual to acquire full immune capability. A full complement of the components that participate in thymic development, interacting with each other at the correct time, is required for maturation. In order to establish the microenvironment necessary for T-cell differentiation, the epithelial primordium of the thymus must expand from pharyngeal endoderm with the aid of contributions from the ectoderm. Experimental studies have established the importance of mesenchymal derivatives from the neural crest in functional development of the epithelial primordium. Interfering with this process inhibits thymic development in a manner similar to that observed in congenital conditions such as the DiGeorge syndrome and the fetal alcohol syndrome. These observations provide clues to understanding the origin of defects in thymus-dependent immunity, and point the way to studies that will expand our understanding of the controls that are involved in genetic and environmental factors impacting on this process.
胸腺的正常发育对于个体获得完整免疫能力至关重要。胸腺发育需要一整套参与其中的成分，它们在正确的时间相互作用，以实现成熟。为了建立T细胞分化所必需的微环境，胸腺的上皮原基必须借助外胚层的贡献从咽内胚层扩展。实验研究已证实神经嵴间充质衍生物在上皮原基功能发育中的重要性。干扰这一过程会以类似于先天性疾病（如迪格奥尔格综合征和胎儿酒精综合征）中观察到的方式抑制胸腺发育。这些观察结果为理解胸腺依赖性免疫缺陷的起源提供了线索，并为进一步研究指明了方向，这些研究将扩展我们对影响这一过程的遗传和环境因素所涉及的调控机制的理解。
