unit 7 Flashcards
what are the primary lymphoid organs?
thymus, bone marrow, GALT
what are the secondary lymphoid organs?
lymph nodes and spleen
what happens in the thymus?
T cell differentiation
what is a special feature of the thymus?
antigen independent proliferation
how does the thymus develop into a lymphoid organ?
multipotent lymphoid stem cells enter into the epithelial rudiment and occupy spaces between the epithelial cells
thymus structure
thin capsule made of connective tissues
trabeculae extend from capsule into parenchyma and establish thymus lobules
what part of the thymus contains developing T lymphocytes?
thymic cortex which is the outer portion of the thymic parenchyma
how will a stain appear when there is a large number of lymphocytes?
very basophilic
what do epithelioreticular cells provide?
a frame work for developing T lymphocytes
what types of epithelioreticular cells are found in the cortex?
I, II, and III
what types of epithelioreticular cells are found in the medulla?
IV, V, and VI
what is the major component of the blood-thymus barrier? what is it impermeable to?
endothelium
macromolecules
how do type I epithelioreticular cells protect T lymphocytes?
contain occluding junctions
surround the capillary wall in the cortex with their basal lamina
where is the perivascular CT contained? what does it do?
between the basal lamina of both epithelioreticular cells and endothelial cells
provides protection for developing T lymphocytes
thymic T cell education
a process of multipotential lymphoid stem cell maturation and differentiation into immunocompetent T cells
what is positive selection?
selection for thymocytes that recognize self MHC molecules expressed on cortical epithelium
what happens if the lymphocyte does not recognize self MHC and self antigen?
death of the cell
what happens to cells that pass positive selection?
they leave the cortex and enter the medulla and undergo another selection
where does positive selection occur? where does negative selection occur?
cortex of thymus
medulla of thymus
expression of what molecules occurs in positive selection?
CD2, CD7, CD1, TCRs, CD3, CD4, CD8
what cells present self antigen to developing T cells in positive selection?
type II and III epithelioreticular cells
what is negative selection?
selection against thymocytes that recognize self antigen in the context of self MHC
what cells are eliminated by negative selection?
T cells that demonstrate too high of an affinity for self MHC
cells that survive negative selection become what?
either cytotoxic CD8+ or helper CD4+ T lymphocytes
what can help promote the negative selection process?
regulatory cytokines secreted by type VI epithelioreticular cells
what are thymic corpuscles derived from?
type VI epithelioreticular cells
aka Hassall’s corpuscles
thymic corpuscle characteristics
found in thymic medulla
contain closely packed, concentrically arranged type VI cells
exhibit flattened nuclei
what do thymic corpuscles contain? what is their probable function?
contain keratohyalin granules, bundles of cytoplasmic intermediate filaments, lipid droplets
thought to produce interleukins that function in T differentiation and education