Emerging Strategies to Boost Thymic Function

Overview

Journal Curr Opin Pharmacol

Specialty Pharmacology

Date 2010 May 8

PMID 20447867

Citations 36

Authors

Georg A Hollander

Werner Krenger

Bruce R Blazar

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

The thymus constitutes the primary lymphoid organ for the generation of T cells. Its function is particularly susceptible to various negative influences ranging from age-related involution to atrophy as a consequence of malnutrition, infection or harmful iatrogenic influences such as chemotherapy and radiation. The loss of regular thymus function significantly increases the risk for infections and cancer because of a restricted capacity for immune surveillance. In recent years, thymus-stimulatory, thymus-regenerative, and thymus-protective strategies have been developed to enhance and repair thymus function in the elderly and in individuals undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. These strategies include the use of sex steroid ablation, the administration of growth and differentiation factors, the inhibition of p53, and the transfer of T cell progenitors to alleviate the effects of thymus dysfunction and consequent T cell deficiency.

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