Defining the identity and the niches of epithelial stem cells with highly pleiotropic multilineage potency in the human thymus.

ABSTRACT: Thymus is necessary for lifelong immunological tolerance and immunity. It displays a distinctive epithelial complexity and undergoes age-dependent atrophy. Nonetheless, it also retains regenerative capacity, which, if harnessed appropriately, might permit rejuvenation of adaptive immunity. By characterizing cortical and medullary compartments in the human thymus at single-cell resolution, in this study we have defined specific epithelial populations, including those that share properties with bona fide stem cells (SCs) of lifelong regenerating epidermis. Thymic epithelial SCs display a distinctive transcriptional profile and phenotypic traits, including pleiotropic multilineage potency, to give rise to several cell types that were not previously considered to have shared origin. Using here

SUBMITTER: Ragazzini R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10957394 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature