Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jan 24, 2026

A Three-dimensional Thymic Culture System to Generate Murine Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell-derived Tumor Antigen-specific Thymic Emigrants
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A Three-dimensional Thymic Culture System to Generate Murine Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell-derived Tumor Antigen-specific Thymic Emigrants

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Restoring thymic function: Then and now

Abed El-Hakim El-Kadiry1, Moutih Rafei2

  • 1Department of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Qc, Canada; Montreal Heart Institute, Montréal, Qc, Canada.

Cytokine
|May 21, 2019
PubMed

Thymic vulnerability, a leading cause of defective immunity, was discovered decades ago. To date, several strategies have been investigated to unveil any immunorestorative capacities they might confer. Studies exploiting castration, transplantation, adoptive cell therapies, hormones/growth factors, and cytokines have demonstrated enhanced in vitro and in vivo thymopoiesis, albeit with clinical restrictions. In this review, we will dissect the thymus on a physiological and pathological level and discuss the pros and cons of several strategies esteemed thymotrophic from a pre-clinical perspective. Finally, we will shed light on interleukin (IL)-21, a pharmacologically-promising cytokine with a significant thymotrophic nature, and elaborate on its potential clinical efficacy and safety in immune-deficient subjects.

Keywords:
AgingBone marrow transplantationGVHDIL-21Immune reconstitutionThymopoiesis

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