Linked Life Data

11772533

Source:http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/id/11772533

Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
2-3
pubmed:dateCreated
2002-1-4
pubmed:abstractText
Age-associated thymic atrophy results in a decline in T lymphocyte output and has been identified as one of the key events that precede inefficient functioning of the immune system in later life. Thymic atrophy is thought to result from a failure of the thymic microenvironment to support thymopoiesis in old age and recent evidence suggests that a decline in interleukin-7 (IL-7) expression may limit thymocyte development by restricting combinations of survival, proliferation and rearrangement of the TCRbeta chain. Using RT-PCR and the RNase protection assay, we show that the expression of IL-7 declines with age. Analysis of Connexin 43 expression, a component molecule of gap junctions, whose function is to connect epithelial cells, does not markedly decline with age. These observations suggest that a decline in IL-7 expression is not matched by a similar loss of epithelial cells. These results in conjunction with other studies lead us to speculate that IL-7 producing MHC class II positive TECs are being replaced by cells that do not have this capacity.
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:chemical
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:issn
0531-5565
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:volume
37
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
455-63
pubmed:dateRevised
2006-11-15
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:articleTitle
Age-associated thymic atrophy is linked to a decline in IL-7 production.
pubmed:affiliation
Department of Immunology, ICSM at Chelsea & Westminster Hospital, 369 Fulham Road, London SW10 9NH, UK. d.andrew@ic.ac.uk
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't