The Thymus Gland: a Target Organ for Growth Hormone

Savino, Wilson; Postel-Vinay, Marie-Catherine; Smaniotto, Salete; Dardenne, Mireille

doi:10.1046/j.1365-3083.2002.01077.x

Cited by 78 publications

(62 citation statements)

References 94 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…It also increases replenishment of the thymus, enhances thymocyte release from nurse cells, and increase thymocyte export as well as thymic hormone production [83]. Prolactin and GH enhance the extracellular matrix molecules in vitro [84].…”

Section: Effect Of Other (Non-thymic-self) Hormones On the Thymusmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Immunoendocrine Thymus as a Pacemaker of Lifespan

Csaba¹

2016

Acta Microbiologica et Immunologica Hungarica

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The thymus develops from an endocrine area of the foregut, and retains the ancient potencies of this region. However, later it is populated by bone marrow originated lymphatic elements and forms a combined organ, which is a central part of the immune system as well as an influential element of the endocrine orchestra. Thymus produces self-hormones (thymulin, thymosin, thymopentin, and thymus humoral factor), which are participating in the regulation of immune cell transformation and selection, and also synthesizes hormones similar to that of the other endocrine glands such as melatonin, neuropeptides, and insulin, which are transported by the immune cells to the sites of requests (packed transport). Thymic (epithelial and immune) cells also have receptors for hormones which regulate them. This combined organ, which is continuously changing from birth to senescence seems to be a pacemaker of life. This function is basically regulated by the selection of self-responsive thymocytes as their complete destruction helps the development (up to puberty) and their gradual release in case of weakened control (after puberty) causes the erosion of cells and intercellular material, named aging. This means that during aging, self-destructive and non-protective immune activities are manifested under the guidance of the involuting thymus, causing the continuous irritation of cells and organs. Possibly the pineal body is the main regulator of the pacemaker, the neonatal removal of which results in atrophy of thymus and wasting disease and its later corrosion causes the insufficiency of thymus. The co-involution of pineal and thymus could determine the aging and the time of death without external intervention; however, external factors can negatively influence both of them.

show abstract

Section: Effect Of Other (Non-thymic-self) Hormones On the Thymusmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Immunoendocrine Thymus as a Pacemaker of Lifespan

Csaba¹

2016

Acta Microbiologica et Immunologica Hungarica

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The nervous system exerts a significant influence on immune organs by direct innervation (Besedovsky and Sorkin, 1977;Elenkov et al, 2000;Wrona, 2006) and by the action of hormones such as somatotrophin (Savino et al, 2002). Primary (bone marrow and thymus) and secondary (lymph nodes and spleen) lymphoid organs are highly innervated by nonmyelinated sympathetic projections from central motor neurons and release neurotransmitters, including acetylcholine (Tominaga et al, 1992;Rinner et al, 1999).…”

Section: Autonomic Denervation Of the Gld Thymusmentioning

confidence: 99%

Autonomic Denervation of Lymphoid Organs Leads to Epigenetic Immune Atrophy in a Mouse Model of Krabbe Disease

Galbiati¹,

Basso²,

Cantuti³

et al. 2007

J. Neurosci.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Lysosomal ␤-galactosylceramidase deficiency results in demyelination and inflammation in the nervous system causing the neurological Krabbe disease. In the Twitcher mouse model of this disease, we found that neurological symptoms parallel progressive and severe lymphopenia. Although lymphopoiesis is normal before disease onset, primary and secondary lymphoid organs progressively degenerate afterward. This occurs despite preserved erythropoiesis and leads to severe peripheral lymphopenia caused by reduced numbers of T cell precursors and mature lymphocytes. Hematopoietic cell replacement experiments support the existence of an epigenetic factor in mutant mice reconcilable with a progressive loss of autonomic axons that hampers thymic functionality. We propose that degeneration of autonomic nerves leads to the irreversible thymic atrophy and loss of immune-competence. Our study describes a new aspect of Krabbe disease, placing patients at risk of immune-related pathologies, and identifies a novel target for therapeutic interventions.

show abstract

“…This finding is in agreement with GHR expression by immature murine thymic cell subsets. However, GHR can also be seen in a minor percentage of mature thymocytes, thus suggesting that GH may act throughout the whole differentiation process [107]. Fig.…”

Section: The Somatotrope Gh/igf-1 Axis and Thymus Function In Humansmentioning

confidence: 97%

Impact of the Somatotrope Growth Hormone (GH)/Insulin-Like Growth Factor 1 (IGF-1) Axis Upon Thymus Function: Pharmacological Implications in Regeneration of Immune Functions

Goffinet¹,

Mottet²,

Kermani³

et al. 2011

IEMAMC

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract:The thymus is the central lymphoid structure where T-cell differentiation takes place, and a crucial organ for the maintenance of homeostasis in the immune system. Thymopoiesis includes intrathymic proliferation of T-cell precursors, selection and output of both self-tolerant and competent effector T cells, as well as of natural regulatory T cells (nTreg). In the crosstalk between the neuroendocrine and immune systems, peptide hormones have been more and more implicated in immunomodulation for the last thirty years. The somatotrope growth hormone (GH)/insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) axis in particular has been repeatedly shown to play a major regulatory role upon thymus function and T-cell development. This review will focus on the important thymotropic properties of the somatotrope GH/IGF-1 axis, and will try to discriminate these properties in function of the endocrine or paracrine/autocrine pathways involved in their mediation. Most importantly, in light of an increasing number of recent studies, GH and IGF-1 now appear as novel therapeutic agents that could be used for enhancing thymopoiesis in different cases of immune deficiencies, including aging-related immune dysfunction.Keywords: Thymus, growth hormone (GH), insulin-like growth factors (IGFs), HIV, growth hormone deficiency (GHD), Chagas disease. GENERAL INTRODUCTIONThe thymus is now considered as a crucial organ for maintenance of immune system homeostasis and the central lymphoid organ where occurs the generation of self-tolerant and competent naive T cells, as well as self-antigen specific natural Treg cells [1,2]. However, for a long time, the thymus has been regarded as an endocrine gland. In addition, the thymus now appears as a privileged site where the endocrine and immune systems intimately interact.A permanent crosstalk exists between the neuroendocrine and immune systems [3][4][5][6]. In addition to the strong modulation of immunity by glucocorticoids and sexual steroids, other hormones have been more and more involved in immunomodulation. Indeed, the somatotrope GH/IGF-1 axis, as well as prolactin and thyroid hormones [7], were shown to play an important regulatory role in T-cell development [8][9][10].GH is mainly synthesised in the anterior pituitary gland but can also be produced by immune cells [11,12]. GH has several biological actions in the immune system including regulation of thymopoiesis and T-cell development [13]. Nevertheless, it is uneasy to distinguish whether the thymotropic effects of GH are direct or mediated by IGF-1, as most *Address correspondence to this author at the University of Liege Center of Immunoendocrinology (CIL), Institute of Pathology CHU-B23, B-4000 Liege-Sart Tilman, Belgium; Tel: +32 43 66 25 50; Fax: +32 43 66 98 59; E-mail: vgeenen@ulg.ac.be of GH effects are driven by induction of IGF-1 and as IGF-1 has also been described as an endogenous factor in the thymic microenvironment [12]. The evolution of the research field has brought new insights that justify an overview update as some ancie...

show abstract

The Thymus Gland: a Target Organ for Growth Hormone

Cited by 78 publications

References 94 publications

The Immunoendocrine Thymus as a Pacemaker of Lifespan

The Immunoendocrine Thymus as a Pacemaker of Lifespan

Autonomic Denervation of Lymphoid Organs Leads to Epigenetic Immune Atrophy in a Mouse Model of Krabbe Disease

Impact of the Somatotrope Growth Hormone (GH)/Insulin-Like Growth Factor 1 (IGF-1) Axis Upon Thymus Function: Pharmacological Implications in Regeneration of Immune Functions

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About