Noninvasive neonatal thymus graft into the axillary cavity extends the lifespan of old mice

Aging of lymphoid organs: Can photobiomodulation reverse age-associated thymic involution via stimulation of extrapineal melatonin synthesis and bone marrow stem cells?

Thymic atrophy and the subsequent reduction in T-cell production are the most noticeable age-related changes affecting lymphoid organs in the immune system. In fact, thymic involution has been described as "programmed aging." New therapeutic approaches, such as photobiomodulation (PBM), may reduce or reverse these changes. PBM (also known as low-level laser therapy) involves the delivery of non-thermal levels of red or near-infrared light that are absorbed by mitochondrial chromophores, in order to prevent tissue death and stimulate healing and regeneration. PBM may reverse or prevent thymic involution due to its ability to induce extrapineal melatonin biosynthesis via cyclic adenosine monophosphate (AMP) or NF-kB activation, or alternatively by stimulating bone marrow stem cells that can regenerate the thymus. This perspective puts forward a hypothesis that PBM can alter thymic involution, improve immune functioning in aged people and even extend lifespan.

T cells specific for post-translational modifications escape intrathymic tolerance induction

Establishing effective central tolerance requires the promiscuous expression of tissue-restricted antigens by medullary thymic epithelial cells. However, whether central tolerance also extends to post-translationally modified proteins is not clear. Here we show a mouse model of autoimmunity in which disease development is dependent on post-translational modification (PTM) of the tissue-restricted self-antigen collagen type II. T cells specific for the non-modified antigen undergo efficient central tolerance. By contrast, PTM-reactive T cells escape thymic selection, though the PTM variant constitutes the dominant form in the periphery. This finding implies that the PTM protein is absent in the thymus, or present at concentrations insufficient to induce negative selection of developing thymocytes and explains the lower level of tolerance induction against the PTM antigen. As the majority of self-antigens are post-translationally modified, these data raise the possibility that T cells specific for other self-antigens naturally subjected to PTM may escape central tolerance induction by a similar mechanism.

Post-translational modifications are associated with autoimmune diseases but definitive evidence of their contribution to escape from central tolerance mechanisms is needed. Here, the authors show that T cells specific for post-translational modifications of type II collagen escape intrathymic tolerance induction in a mouse model of rheumatoid arthritis.

Thymic function failure and C-reactive protein levels are independent predictors of all-cause mortality in healthy elderly humans

Relationship between thymic function and elderly survival has been suspected, despite the fact that formal proof is elusive due to technical limitations of thymic function-related markers. The newly described sj/β-TREC ratio allows now, by overcoming these limitations, an accurate measurement of thymic output in elderly humans. Thus, the aim of this study was to determine the impact of thymic function and inflammatory markers on healthy elderly human survival. Healthy volunteers (n = 151), aged over 65, were asked to participate (CARRERITAS cohort). Subjects were excluded if diagnosed of dementia or, during the last 6 months, had clinical data of infection, hospital admission, antitumor therapy, or any treatment that could influence the immune status. Thymic function (sj/β-TREC ratio), CD4:CD8 T cell ratio, C-reactive protein, interleukin-6, and neutrophilia were determined from basal samples. All basal variables and age were associated with 2-year all-cause mortality. Multivariate analysis showed that only thymic function and C-reactive protein were independently associated with time to death. In conclusion, we show, for the first time, the direct role of thymic function in human survival. C-reactive protein raise is also a marker of mortality in the healthy elderly, in a thymic-independent way.