title: Tolerance has its limits: how the thymus copes with infection.
abstract: The thymus is required for T cell differentiation; a process that depends on which antigens are encountered by thymocytes, the environment surrounding the differentiating cells, and the thymic architecture. These features are altered by local infection of the thymus and by the inflammatory mediators that accompany systemic infection. Although once believed to be an immune privileged site, it is now known that antimicrobial responses are recruited to the thymus. Resolving infection in the thymus is important because chronic persistence of microbes impairs the differentiation of pathogen-specific T cells and diminishes resistance to infection. Understanding how these mechanisms contribute to disease susceptibility, particularly in infants with developing T cell repertoires, requires further investigation.
authors.affiliation: Life and Health Sciences Research Institute (ICVS), School of Health Sciences, University of Minho, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal; ICVS/3B's - PT Government Associate Laboratory, Braga/Guimarães, Portugal; Department of Microbiology and Physiological Systems, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Cláudio
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Nunes-Alves
authors.forename: Claudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Nobrega
authors.forename: Samuel M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Behar
authors.forename: Margarida
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Correia-Neves
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D007108:Immune Tolerance / Q000276:immunology*; D007239:Infections / Q000276:immunology*; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology; D013950:Thymus Gland / Q000166:cytology* / Q000276:immunology*
keywords: T cell repertoire; antimicrobial response; infection; thymic microenvironment; thymus