Age-related thymus involution: zinc reverses in vitro the thymulin secretion defect

The inevitability of thymic involution in aging has been opened to question by two recent findings. First, it has been demonstrated that the synthesis and/or secretion of one thymic factor, zinc-thymulin (Zn-FTS), is still present, although reduced, in humans over 90 yr of age and in mice over 24 months of age. The major defect resides in the zinc saturation of thymulin, rather than in the synthesis and secretion rate of the polypeptide by the thymus. Zinc pool is in fact reduced in old age. Thymic explants from old mice in vitro for a short period (6 h) produce nearly the same amount of thymulin as young thymuses, but the zinc-bound form is nearly absent. Zinc addition to the cultures fully recovers the defect. These findings clearly suggest that thymic involution is not an intrinsic and irreversible phenomenon, but is largely due to microenvironmental factors, among which zinc is crucial.