Published in:
Open Access
01-12-2012 | Poster presentation
T cell receptor rearrangement excision circles (TREC) study as an approach to "in vivo" thymus gland function investigation
Authors:
Natalia Lakhonina, Mark Goloviznin, Almira Donetskova, Margarita Nikonova, Alexander Yarilin, Yulia Buldakova, Anna Tektova
Published in:
Arthritis Research & Therapy
|
Special Issue 1/2012
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Excerpt
Age-dependent changes in immune system such as thymus gland involution, T-cells amount decrease, are typical both for autoimmune diseases (Rheumatoid arthritis - RA), and progressive atherosclerosis characterized as "accelerated ageing". But till now processes of T-cell maturation were studied only by indirect methods. The introduction of T-cell receptor excision circle (TREC) PCR-assay seemed to enable direct detection of recent thymic emigrants in peripheral blood and therefore the quantification of thymic output [
1]. High TREC levels were detected during childhood, and were decreasing with age, but TREC-expressing cells are not completely lost in the elderly. At the first stage of our investigation we studied TREC level in 3 groups of healthy donors: 16 people. 16 - 30 years old (group 1, TREC Median 0,156299 Units), 8 persons 30 - 45 years old (group 2, TREC Median 0,08782 Units) and 9 people over 45 years (group 3 TREC Median 0,051858 Units). Thereby we confirmed age-related decline of thymic output in healthy donors. …