t cell homeostasis - more interesting than it sounds
Look–we all know that T cells are important right? I mean, it happens when someone is infected with HIV and loses just the subset of CD4+ T cells: AIDS. There you have it–case closed.
Okay, so in a healthy person, where do T cells come from? Easy–the thymus. But as we gr
ow older, the thymus becomes involuted, decreases in size and eventually ceases production of new T cells. It is not completely known where new T cells come from in older age but it is believed that there is some production in the bone marrow, however at much lower rate than by the thymus. So why is it then the number of T cells we have doesn’t significantly decrease we as grow older?
You see! The question of T cell homeostasis is actually quite interesting! If I have piqued your interest in the least, check out this excellent review published just 4 days ago on the latest and most up-to-date information we have on T cell homeostasis:
Charles D. Surh and Jonathan Sprent, Immunity 2008
