Thymic output in aged mice
Open accessAbstract
Using GFP to mark recent thymic emigrants (RTEs) in mice carrying a GFP transgene driven by the recombination-activating gene 2 promoter, we demonstrate that RTEs are readily detectable even in 2-year-old mice, despite the fact that the proportion of the peripheral T cell pool comprised of RTEs declines with age. Although the number of RTEs decreases after reaching a peak at 6 weeks of age, thymic output as a function of thymic size is surprisingly age-independent. The CD4:CD8 ratio of RTEs declines with age, partly because of a striking decrease in steady-state proliferation of CD4 + RTEs in older mice. RTEs in aged mice undergo phenotypic maturation in the lymphoid periphery with delayed kinetics compared with young mice. RTEs from aged mice secrete less IL-2, proliferate less well, and achieve only weak expression of early-activation markers compared with more mature naïve peripheral T cells from the same mice. The proportion of GFP − cells in the CD4 + and CD8 + thymic compartments increases with age, partly as a result of leakiness in the aged thymus, allowing reentry of naïve peripheral T cells.
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Thymic involution contributes to age-dependent loss of T cell immunity in mice.
“Thymic involution clearly contributes to the aging-dependent loss of T cell immunity in mice”
From Successful and Maladaptive T Cell Aging (2017) · cites this paper as Hale et al., 2006
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- Authors
- Hale, J. S., Boursalian, T. E., Turk, G. L., & Fink, P. J.
- Affiliations
- University of Washington (US)
- Corresponding author
- Fink, Pamela J.
- Venue
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
- Publisher
- National Academy of Sciences
- Published
- 2006-05-30
- Volume
- 103
- Issue
- 22
- Pages
- 8447-8452
- ISSN
- 0027-8424 (ISSN-L)
- 1091-6490
- OpenAlex
- W2156646599
- Cited by
- 322
- References
- 34
- Citations by year
- 2026: 14 · 2025: 21 · 2024: 13 · 2023: 21 · 2022: 12 · 2021: 18 · 2020: 22 · 2019: 16 · 2018: 16 · 2017: 16 · 2016: 11 · 2015: 16 · 2014: 14 · 2013: 18 · 2012: 18
- FWCI
- 5.90
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Cancer Research Institute
- National Institutes of Health (AI064318)
- National Institute on Aging (R21AG023781)
- National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (R01AI064318)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Immunology and Microbiology › Immunology › T-cell and B-cell Immunology
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Hematology › Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation
- Life Sciences › Immunology and Microbiology › Immunology › Immunotoxicology and immune responses
- Keywords
- thymic output, thymic emigrants, aging, recent thymic emigrants, CD4/CD8 ratio, T cell proliferation, T cell development, IL-2 secretion, thymus, aged mice
- MeSH terms
- Aging, Animals, Cell Movement, Cells, Cultured, Immunity, Innate, Kinetics, Organ Size, Phenotype, Thymus Gland, CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes, CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes, Lymphocyte Count, Cell Proliferation, Mice
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