GENERATION OF INTRATHYMIC MICROENVIRONMENTS TO ESTABLISH T-CELL TOLERANCE

被称为t细胞的白细胞是免疫系统的重要组成部分，免疫系统是人体一系列细胞和器官，对生命至关重要。t细胞是对抗细菌和病毒感染的直接需要，也可以帮助其他免疫系统细胞产生抗体。胸腺是胸部的一个免疫器官，是t细胞产生的唯一场所。t细胞和胸腺对个体持续健康的重要性可以从胸腺功能异常的例子中看出，这可能导致免疫缺陷或自身免疫，其中t细胞要么缺失，要么对身体自身组织产生反应。与许多其他器官不同，胸腺的功能并不是一生不变的：随着年龄的增长，它会迅速衰退，这意味着随着年龄的增长，产生的t细胞会越来越少。我们的目标是通过研究胸腺上皮这一器官的特殊组成部分的发育和功能来了解t细胞是如何在胸腺中产生的。通过了解胸腺上皮如何引导t细胞的产生，我们希望能够将这些知识应用于胸腺功能的恢复，这将改善需要恢复t细胞产生的治疗方法，例如在治疗癌症时进行骨髓移植。

White blood cells called T-cells are an essential component of the immune system, a body-wide series of cells and organs that is essential for life. T-cells are directly required to fight against bacterial and viral infections, as well as to help other immune system cells to make antibodies. The thymus is an immune organ in the chest that is the exclusive site for the production of T-cells. The importance of T-cells and the thymus for the continued health of the individual can be seen in examples where thymus function is abnormal, which can result in immunodeficiency or autoimmunity, where T-cells are either absent or reactive towards to the bodies own tissues. Unlike many other organs, thymus function is not constant throughout life: it diminishes rapidly as we get older, meaning that fewer T-cell are produced as we age. We aim to understand how T-cells are produced in the thymus by investigating how a specialised component of this organ, the thymic epithelium, develops and functions. By understanding how the thymus epithelium guides the production of T-cells, we hope to be able to apply this knowledge to the rejuvenation of thymus function, which will improve treatments where it is necessary to restore T-cell production, such as following bone marrow transplantation in the treatment of cancer.