Stressors increase leptin receptor-expressing thymic epithelial cells in the infant/child thymus
Stressors increase leptin receptor-expressing thymic epithelial cells in the infant/child thymus
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压力源增加婴儿/儿童胸腺中表达瘦素受体的胸腺上皮细胞
DOI：
10.1007/s00414-018-1793-9
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发表时间：
2018
影响因子：
2.1
通讯作者：
Suzuki Koichi
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Abe Shuntaro;Saito Takashi;Sato Takako;Suzuki Koichi
胸腺是对应激最敏感的器官，在儿童时期暴露于强烈的应激下会出现急性退化。因此，在法医尸检中，胸腺退化通常被认为是虐待/忽视儿童的证据。部分胸腺上皮细胞表达瘦素受体，在动物模型中瘦素对应激诱导的胸腺退化具有胸腺保护作用。表达瘦素受体的胸腺上皮细胞（LR-TECs）可能在应激环境引起的胸腺重塑中起关键作用。在此，我们试图阐明组织病理学结果和人类LR-TECs在应激环境中的变化。本文对40例（男26例，女14例;年龄21 ~ 3221天）法医尸检的胸腺标本进行了检查。我们将病例分为应激源阳性组（SP，n= 29）和应激源阴性组（SN，n= 11）。根据胸腺退化的组织学类型对病例进行分类，并进行瘦素受体免疫染色。结果表明：（1）SP组胸腺组织学退化明显（p< 0.01）;（2）SP组皮质LR-TECs/TECs比值显著高于SN组（p< 0.01）。SP组皮质LR-TECs/TECs比值的增加可能是人胸腺应激反应机制的一部分。因此，我们推测，LR-TECs在胸腺皮质的定量是一个有价值的法医尸检案件的应激标志物。
The thymus, the organ that is the most sensitive to stress, presents acute involution as a result of exposure to strong stress in childhood. Thymic involution is thus often considered evidence of child abuse/neglect in forensic autopsies. A portion of the thymic epithelial cells express leptin receptor, and leptin showed a thymo-protective function against stress-induced thymic involution in an animal model. Leptin receptor-expressing thymic epithelial cells (LR-TECs) may play a key role in the thymic remodeling provoked by a stressful environment. Here, we sought to clarify the changes of histopathological findings and human LR-TECs in stressful environment. We examined human thymus specimens obtained from 40 forensic autopsy cases (26 male, 14 female; age 21 to 3221 days). We divided the cases into stressor-positive (SP,n= 29) and stressor-negative (SN,n= 11) groups. Cases were classified according to the histological classification of thymic involution and investigated by leptin receptor immunostaining. The results revealed that (1) the SP group showed obvious histological thymic involution (p< 0.01) and (2) the LR-TECs/TECs ratio in the cortex was markedly and significantly increased in the SP group compared to the SN group (p< 0.01). The increase in the cortical LR-TECs/TECs ratio in the SP group may be part of the stress response mechanism in the human thymus. We thus speculate that the quantification of LR-TECs in the thymic cortex is a valuable stress marker for forensic autopsy cases.