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Aged Human Thymus Hassall's Corpuscles Are Immunoreactive for IGF‐I and IGF‐I Receptor
Author(s) -
Marinova Tsvetana Ts.,
Spassov Lyubomir D.,
Vlassov Veselin I.,
Pashev Vili V.,
Markova Maya D.,
Ganev Varban S.,
Dzhupanova Ralitsa S.,
Angelov Doychin N.
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
the anatomical record: advances in integrative anatomy and evolutionary biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.678
H-Index - 62
eISSN - 1932-8494
pISSN - 1932-8486
DOI - 10.1002/ar.20920
Subject(s) - autocrine signalling , paracrine signalling , immunoelectron microscopy , immunohistochemistry , biology , receptor , endocrinology , microbiology and biotechnology , medicine , immunology , biochemistry
Although Hassall's corpuscles have been proposed to act in both maturation of developing thymocytes and removal of apoptotic cells, their function remains an enigma. The involvement of insulin‐like growth factor I (IGF‐I) in the local autocrine and paracrine control of T‐cell development in human thymus is still unclear. In this study, we investigated the structure and distribution of IGF‐I and IGF‐I receptor (IGF‐IR)‐immunopositive Hassall's corpuscles in aged human thymus using bright‐field immunohistochemistry and immunoelectron microscopy. We report new immunocytochemical data for the presence of IGF‐I/IGF‐IR double‐immunopositive Hassall's corpuscles in structurally preserved regions of age‐involuted thymus and discuss the involvement of these unique thymic components in the local regulation of T‐cell development and thymus plasticity during aging by IGF‐I/IGF‐IR‐mediated cell signaling pathway. Anat Rec., 2009. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.