Mechanism of pregnancy-induced thymus involution and regeneration and medication rules of postpartum prescriptions / 中国中药杂志

In order to prevent the maternal immune defenses to the semi-allogeneic fetus, the maternal body will present a special adaptive immune system change represented by acute thymic involution(ATI) during pregnancy, which can be quickly regenerated after delivery. The ATI during pregnancy is related to the level of sex hormones, which is mainly caused by progesterone. Pregnancy-induced ATI is manifested as the continuous shrinkage of thymus volume, especially the cortex, and the wrinkle and phagocytosis of the subcapsular cortical thymic epithelial cells(cTECs), while other thymic epithelial cells(TECs) remain unchanged. The postpartum thymus is regenerated by the co-mediation of forkhead box N1(FOXN1) as well as its target genes chemokine(C-C motif) ligand 25(CCL25), chemokine(C-X-C motif) ligand 12(CXCL12), δ-like ligand 4(DLL4), cathepsin L(CTSL), and serine protease 16(PRSS16). Once the postpartum thymus is poorly repaired, immune dysfunction of the maternal body and several puerperal diseases will be induced, seriously endangering the survival of the mother and the newborn. In traditional Chinese medicine(TCM), Qi and blood are the cornerstone of pregnancy, and the thymus plays a key role in regulating Qi and blood. The deficiency of Qi and blood during pregnancy and childbirth is closely related to the abnormal ATI during pregnancy and the poor regeneration of the postpartum thymus. Based on this theory, TCM has profound academic ideas and rich clinical experience in postpartum recuperation. Based on the systematic description of the mechanism of ATI regeneration during pregnancy, as well as data mining and analysis of two classic gynecological works of TCM, Wan's Gynecology and Fu Qing-zhu's Treatise on Gynecology, this study found that the commonly used TCM for postpartum included Angelicae Sinensis Radix, Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma, Glycyrrhizae Radix et Rhizoma, and Chuanxiong Rhizoma. Among them, Ginseng Radix et Rhizoma, Angelicae Sinensis Radix, and Chuanxiong Rhizoma are high-frequency TCMs with positive effects on postpartum recovery.However, the mechanism of these TCMs in promoting postpartum thymus regeneration needs further investigation.

Aspectos actuales de la organogénesis. Función e involución del timo / Present aspects of organogenesis. Function and thymic involution

El timo es un órgano linfoide central o primario localizado en la parte anterosuperior del tórax. Constituye el principal sitio de diferenciación y maduración de las células T. En esta revisión se detallan aspectos actuales de la embriología, la histología y la función tímica y en la generación de los diferentes subtipos de timocitos y su diferenciación a células T maduras efectoras, la inducción de las células T tímicas reguladoras involucradas en el mantenimiento de la tolerancia a lo propio y la involución que sufre este órgano durante el proceso de inmunosenescencia

Thymus is a primary organ located in the antesuperior area of the torax. It is the principal place of differentiation and maduration of T cells. In this review present aspects of the embriology, histology and thymic function are detailed, as well as its role in the generation of different kinds of thymic cells; its differentiation to mature cells and of regulator T cells has a crucial role in tolerance induction. Moreover, thymic involution during of immunosenescence process is shown

T cell ageing: Effects of age on development, survival & function.

Age associated decline of the immune system continues to be a major health concern. All components of innate and adaptive immunity are adversely affected to lesser or greater extent by ageing resulting in an overall decline of immunocompetence. As a result in the aged population, there is increased susceptibility to infection, poor responses to vaccination, and increased incidence of autoreactivity. There is an increasing focus on the role of T cells during ageing because of their impact on the overall immune responses. A steady decline in the production of fresh naïve T cells, more restricted T cell receptor (TCR) repertoire and weak activation of T cells are some of the effects of ageing. In this review we summarize our present understanding of the effects of ageing on naïve CD4 T cells and potential approaches for therapeutic interventions to restore protective immunity in the aged population.