ArticlePloS one2013
Cell-autonomous defects in thymic epithelial cells disrupt endothelial-perivascular cell interactions in the mouse thymus.
Article in PloS one, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers.
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Who cites it
20 citing papers in PubMed, 35 citations in OpenAlex.
- Review
- Extracellular Matrix-Mediated Neuroendocrine Control of the Thymus.Neuroimmunomodulation · 2026Review
- Insulin-like growth factor 2 as a driving force for exponential expansion and differentiation of the neonatal thymus.Development (Cambridge, England) · 2025Article
- Vhl safeguards thymic epithelial cell identity and thymopoietic capacity by constraining Hif1a activity during development.iScience · 2024Article
- Foxn1 overexpression promotes thymic epithelial progenitor cell proliferation and mTEC maintenance, but does not prevent thymic involution.Development (Cambridge, England) · 2023Article
- Fine-tuning of β-catenin in mouse thymic epithelial cells is required for postnatal T-cell development.eLife · 2022Article
- Thymus Functionality Needs More Than a Few TECs.Frontiers in immunology · 2022Review
- The fibroblast: An emerging key player in thymic T cell selection.Immunological reviews · 2021Review
- Selective expression of claudin-5 in thymic endothelial cells regulates the blood-thymus barrier and T-cell export.International immunology · 2021Article
- Non-Epithelial Stromal Cells in Thymus Development and Function.Frontiers in immunology · 2021Review
- Pleiotropic Roles of VEGF in the Microenvironment of the Developing Thymus.Journal of immunology (Baltimore, Md. : 1950) · 2020Article
- Pericyte Bridges in Homeostasis and Hyperglycemia.Diabetes · 2020Article
- Non-Epithelial Thymic Stromal Cells: Unsung Heroes in Thymus Organogenesis and T Cell Development.Frontiers in immunology · 2020Review
- Bi-directional signaling by membrane-bound KitL induces proliferation and coordinates thymic endothelial cell and thymocyte expansion.Nature communications · 2018Article
- Sp1 is an important transcriptional regulation factor for forkhead box N1 in pig.Journal of genetics · 2018Article
- Production of BMP4 by endothelial cells is crucial for endogenous thymic regeneration.Science immunology · 2018Article
- FOXN1 in thymus organogenesis and development.European journal of immunology · 2016Review
- Molecular homology and difference between spontaneous canine mammary cancer and human breast cancer.Cancer research · 2014Article
- Plxnd1 expression in thymocytes regulates their intrathymic migration while that in thymic endothelium impacts medullary topology.Frontiers in immunology · 2013Article
- Molecular evidence for a thymus-independent partial T cell development in a FOXN1-/- athymic human fetus.PloS one · 2013Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
The thymus is composed of multiple stromal elements comprising specialized stromal microenvironments responsible for the development of self-tolerant and self-restricted T cells. Here, we investigated the ontogeny and maturation of the thymic vasculature. We show that endothelial cells initially enter the thymus at E13.5, with PDGFR-β(+) mesenchymal cells following at E14.5. Using an allelic series of the thymic epithelial cell (TEC) specific transcription factor Foxn1, we showed that these events are delayed by 1-2 days in Foxn1 (Δ/Δ) mice, and this phenotype was exacerbated with reduced Foxn1 dosage. At subsequent stages there were fewer capillaries, leaky blood vessels, disrupted endothelium - perivascular cell interactions, endothelial cell vacuolization, and an overall failure of vascular organization. The expression of both VEGF-A and PDGF-B, which are both primarily expressed in vasculature-associated mesenchyme or endothelium in the thymus, were reduced at E13.5 and E15.5 in Foxn1 (Δ/Δ) mice compared with controls. These data suggest that Foxn1 is required in TECs both to recruit endothelial cells and for endothelial cells to communicate with thymic mesenchyme, and for the differentiation of vascular-associated mesenchymal cells. These data show that Foxn1 function in TECs is required for normal thymus size and to generate the cellular and molecular environment needed for normal thymic vascularization. These data further demonstrate a novel TEC-mesenchyme-endothelial interaction required for proper fetal thymus organogenesis.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.