ArticleImmunity2014
Adult thymus contains FoxN1(-) epithelial stem cells that are bipotent for medullary and cortical thymic epithelial lineages.
Article in Immunity, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 50 papers.
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Who cites it
50 citing papers in PubMed, 94 citations in OpenAlex.
- Ly6d expression delineates two putative postnatal thymus epithelial progenitor cells that are differentially affected by aging.Science advances · 2026Article
- The Thymus Regeneration Paradox: The Search for Stemness in an Involuting Organ.Immunological reviews · 2026Review
- Deconstructing the Thymic Microenvironment Through Genesis to Senescence.Immunological reviews · 2025Review
- The Cellular and Molecular Characteristics of Postnatal Human Thymus Stromal Stem Cells.Biomedicines · 2025Article
- OVOL2 sustains postnatal thymic epithelial cell identity.Nature communications · 2023Article
- Defining the identity and the niches of epithelial stem cells with highly pleiotropic multilineage potency in the human thymus.Developmental cell · 2023Article
- The absence of the autoimmune regulator gene (AIRE) impairs the three-dimensional structure of medullary thymic epithelial cell spheroids.BMC molecular and cell biology · 2022Article
- Bone Marrow-Derived Cells Contribute to the Maintenance of Thymic Stroma including TECs.Journal of immunology research · 2022Article
- Editorial: Thymus function and aging: A focus on thymic epithelial cells.Frontiers in immunology · 2022Article
- Transcriptional and epigenetic regulation in thymic epithelial cells.Immunological reviews · 2022Review
- WNT4 overexpression and secretion in thymic epithelial tumors drive an autocrine loop in tumor cellsFrontiers in oncology · 2022Article
- Key Factors for Thymic Function and Development.Frontiers in immunology · 2022Review
- Abrogation of Notch Signaling in Embryonic TECs Impacts Postnatal mTEC Homeostasis and Thymic Involution.Frontiers in immunology · 2022Article
- The fibroblast: An emerging key player in thymic T cell selection.Immunological reviews · 2021Review
- Current and Future Therapeutic Approaches for Thymic Stromal Cell Defects.Frontiers in immunology · 2021Review
- The Early Postnatal Life: A Dynamic Period in Thymic Epithelial Cell Differentiation.Frontiers in immunology · 2021Review
- Autoimmune Addison's Disease as Part of the Autoimmune Polyglandular Syndrome Type 1: Historical Overview and Current Evidence.Frontiers in immunology · 2021Review
- Reconstitution of a functional human thymus by postnatal stromal progenitor cells and natural whole-organ scaffolds.Nature communications · 2020Article
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Within the thymus, two major thymic epithelial cell (TEC) subsets-cortical and medullary TECs-provide unique structural and functional niches for T cell development and establishment of central tolerance. Both lineages are believed to originate from a common progenitor cell, yet the cellular and molecular identity of these bipotent TEC progenitors/stem cells remains ill defined. Here we identify rare stromal cells in the murine adult thymus, which under low-attachment conditions formed spheres (termed "thymospheres"). These thymosphere-forming cells (TSFCs) displayed the stemness features of being slow cycling, self-renewing, and bipotent. TSFCs could be significantly enriched based on their distinct surface antigen phenotype. The FoxN1 transcription factor was dispensable for TSFCs maintenance in situ and for commitment to the medullary and cortical TEC lineages. In summary, this study presents the characterization of the adult thymic epithelial stem cells and demonstrates the dispensability of FoxN1 function for their stemness.
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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.