#PAGE_PARAMS# #ADS_HEAD_SCRIPTS# #MICRODATA#

Morphological View on Human Thymus Ontogenesis


Authors: V. Pospíšilová 1;  I. Varga 1,2;  P. Gálfiová 1;  Š. Polák 1
Authors‘ workplace: Ústav histológie a embryológie, Lekárska fakulta, Univerzita Komenského, Bratislava prednosta doc. MUDr. Š. Polák, CSc. Ústav fyziológie a patofyziológie, Fakulta zdravotníckych špecializačných štúdií 1;  Slovenská zdravotnícka univerzita, Bratislava prednosta doc. MUDr. I. Béder, CSc. 2
Published in: Čes-slov Pediat 2008; 63 (4): 201-208.
Category: Review

Overview

The thymus plays a key role in the development of the immune system. The function of the thymus is to establish and maintain the cellular immunity. During intrauterine development the environmental factors can represent the cause of various developmental anomalies of the thymus. Postnatally, these factors may cause primary immunodeficiency or diseases with deficient thymic functions. In newborns, the thymus is an organ with definitive morphology and function. In comparison with body proportions, the thymus reaches its biggest size in first six postnatal months. Then its lymphatic tissue is reduced and its function slowly decreases until the time of puberty. In spite of this physiological involution, this organ produces T-lymphocytes until the senescence.

This article brings a review of normal thymic development, origin of developmental anomalies and sums up the knowledge of the structure, function and postnatal involution of the thymus.

Key words:
thymus development, microenvironment, thymus function, physiological involution of the thymus


Sources

1. Béder I. Fyziológia lymfatického systému. In Javorka K, et al. Lekárska fyziológia. Martin: Vydavateľstvo Osveta, 2001: 207–214.

2. Bevelander G. Essentials of Histology. 4th ed. St. Louis: C. V. Mosby Company, 1961: 1–288.

3. Bistritzer T, Tamir A, Oland J, et al. Severe dyspnea and dysphagia resulting from an aberrant cervical thymus. Eur. J. Pediatr. 1985;144: 86–87.

4. Bodey B, Bodey B, Siegel SE, Kaiser HE. Novel insights into the function of the thymic Hassall´s bodies. In Vivo 2000;14(3): 407–418.

5. Brauer PR. Human Embryology: The Ultimate USMLE Step 1. Review. Philadelphia: Hanley & Belfus 2003: 1–130.

6. Buc M. Imunológia. Bratislava: Veda, 2001: 1–464.

7. Buc M. Autoimunita a autoimunitné choroby. Bratislava: VEDA, 2006: 1–500.

8. Buc M, Bucová M. Základná a klinická imunológia pre ošetrovateľstvo a iné nelekárske odbory. Bratislava: Univerzita Komenského, 2006: 1–336.

9. Clarke AG, Gil AL, Kendall MD. The effects of pregnancy on the mouse thymic epithelium. Cell Tissue Res. 1994;75: 309–318.

10. Conwell LS, Batch JA. Aberrant cervical thymus mimicking a cervical mass. J. Paediatr. Child Health 2004;40: 579–580.

11. Day DL, Gedgaudas E. Symposium on nonpulmonary aspects in chest radiology. The thymus. Radiol. Clin. North. Am. 1984;22(3): 519–538.

12. Duffy BJ, Jr, Fitzgerald PJ. Thyroid cancer in childhood and adolescence: report of 28 cases. Cancer 1950;3: 1018–1032.

13. Fölsch UR, Kochsiek K, Schmidt RF, et al. Patologická fyziologie. Praha: Grada Publishing, 2003: 1–588.

14. Fraser SE, Bronner-Fraser M. Migrating neural crest cells in the trunk of the avian embryo are multipotent. Development 1991;112: 913–920.

15. Fuchsová M, Neščáková E, Luptáková L, Drobná H, Katina S. Vplyv dojčenia na telesný rast a vývin detí do jedného roku života. Česká Antropologie 2006;56: 50–53.

16. Hasselbalch H, Engelmann MD, Ersbøll AK, et al. Breast-feeding influences thymic size in late infancy. Eur. J. Pediatr. 1999;158: 964–967.

17. Halnon NJ, Jamieson B, Plunkett M, et al. Thymic function and impaired maintance of peripheral T cell populations in children with congenital heart disease and surgical thymectomy. Pediatr. Res. 2005;57(1): 42–48.

18. Hildreth NG, Shore RE, Dvoretsky PM. The risk of breast cancer after irradiation of the thymus in infancy. N. Engl. J. Med. 1989;321: 1281–1284.

19. Hong R. The Thymus. Chest Surg. Clin. North Am. 2001;11(2): 259–310.

20. Hudecová K, Mladosievičová B. Poškodenie srdca po rádioterapii v detskom veku. Čes.-slov. Pediat. 2008;63(4): 194–200.

21. Chaoui R, Kalache KD, Heling KS, et al. Absent or hypoplastic thymus on ultrasound: a marker for deletion 22q11.2 in fetal cardiac defects. Ultrasound Obstet. Gynecol. 2002;20: 546–552.

22. Chentoufi AA, Palumbo M, Polychronakos C. Proinsulin expression by Hassall´s corpuscles in the mouse thymus. Diabetes 2004;53: 354–359.

23. Jacobs MT, Frush DP, Donelly LF. The right place at the wrong time: historical perspective of the relation of the thymus gland and pediatric radiology. Radiology 1999;210: 11–16.

24. Jeppesen DL. The size of the thymus: an important immunological diagnostic tool? Acta Pædiatr. 2003;92: 994–995.

25. Kapeller K, Pospíšilová V. Embryológia človeka. Martin: Osveta, 2001: 1–371.

26. Kendall MD, Atkinson BA, Muňoz FJ, et al. The noradrenergic innervation of the rat thymus during pregnancy and in the post partum period. J. Anat. 1994;185: 617–625.

27. Kolektiv autorů. Obecní a speciální pathologie a pathologická anatomie. Soubor přednášek na lékařské fakultě Masarykovy university v Brně. Brno: Spolek českých mediků v Brně, 1948: 1–354.

28. Mikušová R, Pospíšilová V, Varga I, Gomolčák P, Polák Š. Retikuloepitelová stróma v normálnom a patologicky zmenenom týmuse. In Polák Š, Pospíšilová V, Varga I. (Eds.) Morfológia v súčasnosti. Bratislava: Univerzita Komenského, 2006: 239–245.

29. Miller J. Immunological function of the thymus. Lancet 1961;2: 748–749.

30. Miller JFAP. The discovery of thymus function and thymus-derived lymphocytes. Immunol. Reviews 2002;18: 7–14.

31. Miller JF. Events that led to the discovery of T-cell development and function – a personal recollection. Tissue Antigens 2004: 509–517.

32. Pai I, Hegde V, Wilson POG, et al. Ectopic thymus presenting as a subglottic mass: diagnostic and management dilemmas. Int. J. Pediatr. Otorhinolaryngol. 2005;69: 573–576.

33. Pazirandeh A, Jondal M, Okret S. Glucocorticoids delay age-associated thy,ic involution through directly affecting the thymocytes. Endocrinology 2004;145(5): 2392–2401.

34. Pospíšilová V, Slípka J. Pharyngeal region derivates in early human development. Plzeň. lék. Sborn. 2000;74: 93–98.

35. Pospíšilová V, Slípka J. Morfogenetický význam epibranchiálnych plakód. In Tomo IM, Danišovič Ľ. (Eds.) Príspevok k výskumu štruktúr organizmu venované k 70. narodeninám prof. MUDr. Jozefa Zlatoša, DrSc. Bratislava: Slovenská biologická spoločnosť SAV, 2005: 62–64.

36. Slípka J, Pospíšilová V, Slípka J, Jr. Evolution, development and involution of the thymus. Folia Microbiol. 1998;43(5): 527–530.

37. Staal FJT, Weerkamp F, Langerak AW, et al. Transcriptional control of T lymphocyte differentiation. Stem Cells 2001;19: 165–179.

38. Schmidtová K, Dorko F. Cholinergická inervácia týmusu a sleziny po experimentálnom ovplyvnení. In Polák Š, Pospíšilová V, Varga I. Morfológia v súčasnosti. Bratislava: Univerzita Komenského, 2006: 268–272.

39. Steinmann GG, Klaus B, Müller-Hermelink HK. The involution of the ageing human thymic epithelium is independent of puberty. A morphometric study. Scand. J. Immunol. 1985;22: 563–575.

40. Varga I, Polák Š, Pospíšilová V, Tóth F. Týmus – už vyše dve tisícročia záhadami opradený orgán. Medicínsky Monitor 2007;4: 1–8.

41. Varga I, Gálfiová P, Pospíšilová V, Polák Š, Tóth F. Vývin a vrodené chyby týmusu. Neonatologické Zvesti, 2008 (in press).

42. Weerkamp F, De Haas EFE, Naber BAE, et al. Age related changes in cellular composition of the thymus in children. J. Allergy Clin. Immunol. 2005;115(4): 834–840.

43. Wolf J. Histologie. Praha: Státní zdravotnické nakladatelství, 1966: 1–899.

Labels
Neonatology Paediatrics General practitioner for children and adolescents
Topics Journals
Login
Forgotten password

Enter the email address that you registered with. We will send you instructions on how to set a new password.

Login

Don‘t have an account?  Create new account

#ADS_BOTTOM_SCRIPTS#