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Updated: Aug 1, 2025

Preparation and Applications of Organotypic Thymic Slice Cultures
Published on: August 6, 2016
Sex biased human thymic architecture guides T cell development through spatially defined niches
Laura N Stankiewicz1, Kevin Salim2,3, Emily A Flaschner1
1School of Biomedical Engineering, University of British Columbia, Canada.
Abstract:
Within the thymus, regulation of the cellular cross-talk directing T cell development is dependent on spatial interactions within specialized niches. To create a holistic, spatially defined map of tissue niches guiding postnatal T cell development we employed the multidimensional imaging platform CO-detection by indEXing (CODEX), as well as CITE-seq and ATAC-seq. We generated age-matched 4-5-month-old postnatal thymus datasets for male and female donors, and identify significant sex differences in both T cell and thymus biology. We demonstrate a crucial role for JAG ligands in directing thymic-like dendritic cell development, reveal important functions of a novel population of ECM- fibroblasts, and characterize the medullary niches surrounding Hassall's corpuscles. Together, these data represent a unique age-matched spatial multiomic resource to investigate how sex-based differences in thymus regulation and T cell development arise, and provide an essential resource to understand the mechanisms underlying immune function and dysfunction in males and females.
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