Thymus degeneration and regeneration

The thymus is a primary lymphoid organ responsible for T cells development and education. In fact, it is the only organ responsible for the generation of an extraordinary diverse T cell pool and, at the same time, inducing central tolerance thus avoiding self reactivity and autoimmunity. Despite its importance, thymus is continuously challenged by a number of acute damages, some of them necessary for the success of convectional cancer treatments. As a result, the gland is subjected to tissue degeneration, thus driving a significant drop in T cell production and reduced immune immunosurveillance. On the other hand, thymus has a unique capacity of auto regeneration, with several pathways being activated upon damage and being responsible for restoring thymic function. These properties make the study of thymic degeneration and recovery particularly fascinating, with the aim of developing strategies to accelerate thymic regeneration upon damage and improve survival and quality of life of patients experiencing immunodeficiency related to various pathological conditions. For this reason, the main purpose of this work, performed at Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital under the supervision of Dr. Enrico Velardi and Prof. Isabella Screpanti, was to improve our knowledge on how thymus function is altered in diverse pathological conditions, and to explore new pathways for thymic regeneration.