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A molecule called BMP4 that plays a key role in the thymus’s extraordinary natural ability to recover from damage. Dr. Jarrod Dudakov of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, one of the study’s leaders, talks about the importance of the thymus, the discoveries he and his colleagues have made about how it regenerates. The researchers hope to translate their work into new therapies to improve the function of the immune system in old age and make immunotherapies more effective.
The thymus is like a boot camp for new recruits to the immune system. From their birthplace in the bone marrow, immature white blood cells go to the thymus to mature into disease-killing machines. A healthy, active thymus gets you a diverse set of different T cells, each equipped to recognize and kill a slightly different foreign target. Thus, the organ is critical for a strong immune system that’s ready to prevent any threat.
The thymus is sensitive to damage from everything from infections to life stress, it is also naturally resilient. Its power to bounce back from injury, however, fades with age, and it can take a serious hit from certain aggressive cancer therapies. BMP4, the molecule identified in the team’s new study, is only the second known driver of natural thymic regeneration.
The researchers found that BMP4 is produced by certain cells lining the inside of the organ. That molecule signals other cells of the thymus to turn on genes that promote development and repair.
Now, the team is working to figure out whether there’s a master trigger that activates the whole regeneration process and then translate that knowledge into new therapies that help patients.
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