Front. Immunol., 07 October 2013 | doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2013.00316
- Infection and Immunity Group, Department of Comparative Biomedical Sciences, Royal Veterinary College, University of London, London, UK
Age-related regression of the thymus is associated with a decline in naïve T cell output. This is thought to contribute to the reduction in T cell diversity seen in older individuals and linked with increased susceptibility to infection, autoimmune disease, and cancer. Thymic involution is one of the most dramatic and ubiquitous changes seen in the aging immune system, but the mechanisms which underlying this process are poorly understood. However, a picture is emerging, implicating the involvement of both extrinsic and intrinsic factors. In this review we assess the role of the thymic microenvironment as a potential target that regulates thymic involution, question whether thymocyte development in the aged thymus is functionally impaired, and explore the kinetics of thymic involution.
Keywords: thymus, immunosenescence, thymic involution, thymic stroma, thymocyte
Citation: Palmer DB (2013) The effect of age on thymic function. Front. Immunol. 4:316. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2013.00316
Received: 03 May 2013; Accepted: 18 September 2013;
Published online: 07 October 2013.
Published online: 07 October 2013.
Edited by:
Dietmar Herndler-Brandstetter, Yale University School of Medicine, USA
Reviewed by:
James Dooley, VIB – KU Leuven, BelgiumDietmar Herndler-Brandstetter, Yale University School of Medicine, USA
Copyright: © 2013 Palmer. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: Donald B. Palmer, Infection and Immunity Group, Department of Comparative Biomedical Sciences, Royal Veterinary College, University of London, Royal College Street, London NW1 0TU, UK e-mail: dpalmer@rvc.ac.uk
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