Detection of Quiescent Radioresistant Epithelial Progenitors in the Adult Thymus.

ABSTRACT: Thymic aging precedes that of other organs and is initiated by the gradual loss of thymic epithelial cells (TECs). Based on in vitro culture and transplantation assays, recent studies have reported on the presence of thymic epithelial progenitor cells (TEPCs) in young adult mice. However, the physiological role and properties of TEPC populations reported to date remain unclear. Using an in vivo label-retention assay, we previously identified a population of quiescent but non-senescent TECs. The goals of this study were therefore (i) to evaluate the contribution of these quiescent TECs to thymic regeneration following irradiation-induced acute thymic injury and (ii) to characterize their phenotypic and molecular profiles using flow cytometry, immunohistology, and transcriptome

SUBMITTER: Dumont-Lagace M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5723310 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature