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Organ Tissue Engineering pp 1–35Cite as

Tissue-Engineered Thymus

  • Living reference work entry
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Part of the book series: Reference Series in Biomedical Engineering ((TIENRE))

Abstract

Impaired thymus function due to aging or other clinical conditions may have a number of consequences for the immune system such as an enhanced predisposition to infection and autoimmunity, slow response to vaccines with age, and possible risk of cancer development. Current approaches for exogenous thymus regeneration focus on the modulation of growth factors and hormones secreted by thymic epithelial cells. Bioengineering approach to create and use transplantable thymus tissue can offer effective regenerative strategy. This chapter aims to describe the cellular architecture and function of primary lymphoid organ thymus and discuss the current and potential bioengineering approaches to regenerate the thymus. Continued research to understand the mechanisms that regulate thymic recovery after injuries and strategies that can boost its endogenous repair is essential for furthering current and developing new promising regenerative technologies.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Dr. Prafulla Chandra (Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine) for the editorial help.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Medical Center Boulevard, Winston Salem, NC, USA

    Gauri Kulkarni & John D. Jackson

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  1. Gauri Kulkarni
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  2. John D. Jackson
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Correspondence to Gauri Kulkarni or John D. Jackson .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Klinik für Urologie, NORD1 B200, Universitäts Spital, Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland

    Daniel Eberli

  2. Institute for Regenerative Medicine, Wake Forest University, Winston Salem, NC, USA

    Sang Jin Lee

  3. Inst of Tendon and Bone Regeneration, Paracelsus Medical University, Salzburg, Austria

    Andreas Traweger

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Kulkarni, G., Jackson, J.D. (2020). Tissue-Engineered Thymus. In: Eberli, D., Lee, S.J., Traweger, A. (eds) Organ Tissue Engineering. Reference Series in Biomedical Engineering(). Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-18512-1_11-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-18512-1_11-1

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