Direct intrathymic injection is a common procedure used in several types of experimental protocols in the mouse. Currently available approaches involve major surgical procedures that expose the thoracic cavity, resulting in an increased risk of poor recovery and postsurgical complications. The authors sought to refine this surgery to reduce animal pain and distress without compromising overall efficiency of the technique. Using a minimally invasive method that does not expose the thoracic cavity, the authors gave accurately placed intrathymic injections, as confirmed by analyses with a reporter dye. They describe this new approach for intrathymic injection in mice that reduces complications associated with lengthy periods of anesthesia and thoracic cavity exposure.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/laban0507-27 | DOI Listing |
Front Immunol
July 2024
Department of Allied Health Sciences, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, United States.
T cell development in the thymus is dependent on the thymic microenvironment, in which thymic epithelial cells (TECs) are the major component. However, TECs undergo both a qualitative and quantitative loss during aging, which is believed to be the major factor responsible for age-dependent thymic atrophy. FOXN1 plays a critical role in TEC development and adult TECs maintenance.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBraz J Med Biol Res
August 2023
Fundação Pró-Sangue São Paulo, Hemocentro de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brasil.
DiGeorge syndrome is a disorder caused by a microdeletion on the long arm of chromosome 22. Approximately 1% of patients diagnosed with DiGeorge syndrome may have an absence of a functional thymus, which characterizes the complete form of the syndrome. These patients require urgent treatment to reconstitute T cell immunity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Although the thymus continues to export T cells throughout life, it undergoes a profound involution/atrophy with age, resulting in decreased numbers of T cells in the older adult, which has direct etiological linkages with many diseases. T cell development in the thymus is dependent on the thymic microenvironment, in which thymic epithelial cells (TECs) are the major component. However, TECs undergo both a qualitative and quantitative loss during aging, which is believed to be the major factor responsible for age-dependent thymic atrophy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBlood
May 2023
San Raffaele Telethon Institute for Gene Therapy, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy.
Adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors have been successfully exploited in gene therapy applications for the treatment of several genetic disorders. AAV is considered an episomal vector, but it has been shown to integrate within the host cell genome after the generation of double-strand DNA breaks or nicks. Although AAV integration raises some safety concerns, it can also provide therapeutic benefit; the direct intrathymic injection of an AAV harboring a therapeutic transgene results in integration in T-cell progenitors and long-term T-cell immunity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSTAR Protoc
March 2023
Institute of Microbiology and Immunology, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei 112, Taiwan; Taiwan International Graduate Program in Molecular Medicine, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University and Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan. Electronic address:
Currently available intrathymic injection techniques cause postoperative complications or difficulties in equipment acquisition. Here, we describe a standardized intrathymic injection protocol that requires only basic equipment with a minimally invasive procedure. We detail steps to identify injection sites for intrathymic delivery.
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