Acute Thymic Involution and Mechanisms for Recovery.
Acute thymic involution (ATI) is usually regarded as a virulence trait. It is caused by several infectious agents (bacteria, viruses, parasites, fungi) and other factors, including stress, pregnancy, malnutrition and chemotherapy. However, the complex mechanisms that operate during ATI differ substantially from each other depending on the causative agent. For instance, a transient reduction in the size and weight of the thymus and depletion of populations of T cell subsets are hallmarks of ATI in many cases, whereas severe disruption of the anatomical structure of the organ is also associated with some factors, including fungal, parasitic and viral infections. However, growing evidence shows that ATI may be therapeutically halted or reversed. In this review, we highlight the current progress in this field with respect to numerous pathological factors and discuss the possible mechanisms. Moreover, these new observations also show that ATI can be mechanistically reversed.
Department of Basic Veterinary Medicine, College of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, 430070, Wuhan, Hubei, China.|Section of Anatomy and Histology, Department of Basic Sciences, College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (CVAS), Jhang, Pakistan.|University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (UVAS), Lahore, Pakistan.
Abdur Rahman
AR
Ansari
Department of Basic Veterinary Medicine, College of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, 430070, Wuhan, Hubei, China. lhz219@mail.hzau.edu.cn.
Huazhen
H
Liu
D000818:Animals; D001284:Atrophy; D016207:Cytokines / Q000378:metabolism; D064420:Drug-Related Side Effects and Adverse Reactions / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007239:Infections / Q000276:immunology*; D044342:Malnutrition / Q000276:immunology*; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000276:immunology*; D016176:T-Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000502:physiology*; D013950:Thymus Gland / Q000473:pathology* / Q000502:physiology
D016207:Cytokines
Acute; Atrophy; Mechanistic recovery; Thymic involution; Thymus