Steroid receptors and transcriptional control of thymic rebound

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Immunosenescence, or reduced immune system function with age, is an important contributor to increased incidence of disease and reduced quality of life with aging. Cellular immune responses, which control infection, allergy and transplant rejection, are co-ordinated and effected by white blood cell called T-cells. T-cells develop in a specialized organ, the thymus, and a key component of immunosenescence is the early degeneration of the thymus, termed thymic involution. The mechanisms underlying this process are however poorly understood. Steroid hormones, especially androgens, are thought to be major contributors to thymic involution, and androgen blockade can result in thymic regeneration. The current proposal seeks to identify the cellular and molecular targets of androgen signaling in the adult thymus and during thymic rebound.