Implications of Oxidative Stress and Cellular Senescence in Age-Related Thymus Involution

The human thymus is a primary lymphoepithelial organ which supports the production of self-tolerant T cells with competent and regulatory functions. Paradoxically, despite the crucial role that it exerts in T cell-mediated immunity and prevention of systemic autoimmunity, the thymus is the first org...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Oxidative medicine and cellular longevity 2020, Vol.2020 (2020), p.1-14
Main Authors: Kanavaros, Panagiotis, Papoudou-Bai, Alexandra, Vlasis, Konstantinos G., Evangelou, Konstantinos, Vasileiou, Panagiotis, Barbouti, Alexandra, Gorgoulis, Vassilis G.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Age
Aging
Androgens
Atrophy
Autoimmunity
Cell cycle
Disease susceptibility
Homeostasis
Hormones
Immune response
Immune system
Insulin-like growth factors
Lymphocytes
Metabolism
Metabolites
Oxidative stress
Pathogens
Review
Senescence
Stem cells
T cells
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Summary:The human thymus is a primary lymphoepithelial organ which supports the production of self-tolerant T cells with competent and regulatory functions. Paradoxically, despite the crucial role that it exerts in T cell-mediated immunity and prevention of systemic autoimmunity, the thymus is the first organ of the body that exhibits age-associated degeneration/regression, termed “thymic involution.” A hallmark of this early phenomenon is a progressive decline of thymic mass as well as a decreased output of naïve T cells, thus resulting in impaired immune response. Importantly, thymic involution has been recently linked with cellular senescence which is a stress response induced by various stimuli. Accumulation of senescent cells in tissues has been implicated in aging and a plethora of age-related diseases. In addition, several lines of evidence indicate that oxidative stress, a well-established trigger of senescence, is also involved in thymic involution, thus highlighting a possible interplay between oxidative stress, senescence, and thymic involution.
ISSN:1942-0900
1942-0994
DOI:10.1155/2020/7986071