When will functional thymic-gonadal axis be established ?

本研究旨在确定使用人胎儿胸腺建立功能性“胸腺腺”轴的时间。取13 ~ 24周龄胎儿常规胸腺组织(1)免疫组化染色雌激素受体（ER）、血清胸腺因子（FTS）和角蛋白；(2)ELISA法定量组织中雌激素受体（ER）和FTS。调查结果如下：(1) 16周龄胎胸腺er染色细胞仅出现在髓质区，角蛋白染色证实为上皮细胞。它们也分散在皮质区。(2)在同一孕周，主要是fts染色的细胞弥漫性分布在髓质，部分分散在皮质区。其结构特征与er染色细胞相似。目前的研究结果可能为妊娠中期胎儿胸腺发育生长的E调控提供证据，其通过受体机制对上皮细胞的影响，产生FTS刺激T细胞的增殖、分化和/或选择。

This study was carried out to determine when functional 'thymusgonad' axis would be established using human fetal thymus. Thymus tissues regally obtained from 13 to 24 week old fetuses were used for (1) immunohistochemical staining of estrogen receptor (ER), serum thymic factor (FTS) and keratin, and (2) quantitation by ELISA of ER and FTS in the tissue.The findings were as follows ; (1) in 16 week old fetal thymus ER-stained cells appeared exclusively in the medullary area which were confirmed as epithelial cells by keratin-staining. They were also scattered in the cortical area. (2) at the same gestational week, predominantly FTS-stained cells were diffusely distributed throughout the medulla, with some scattered in the cortical area. Their structural features were similar to those of ER-stained cells.The present results may provide evidence for E regulation of development-growth of the fetal thymus at mid-pregnancy through its effect on the epithelial cells via a receptor mechanism that produces FTS to stimulate the proliferation, differentiation and/or selection of T cells.