2014年4月9日 訊 /生物谷BIOON/ --近日，一項刊登在國際雜誌Development上的一篇研究報告中，來自愛丁堡大學的科學家通過研究首次成功地實現了對活器官的再生，研究者對胸腺進行了再生，胸腺是機體中位於心臟附近的一個器官，其會產生重要的免疫細胞，這項研究對於開發新型療法治療免疫系統損傷以及遺傳性的胸腺障礙發育的個體提供了一定思路。
研究者表示，胸腺可以幫助小鼠產生更多的T細胞，其對於抵禦感染非常重要，然而研究者並不確定其是否可以改善小鼠機體免疫系統；文章中研究者主要對胸腺產生的一種名為FOXN1蛋白質進行研究，該蛋白可以幫助控制特殊基因的開關，通過增加FOXN1的水平，研究者就可以引入幹細胞從而重新構建器官。
研究者Clare Blackburn教授表示，我們的研究結果顯示，通過靶向作用人類機體的相同路徑可以有效改善胸腺的功能以及增加老年個體的免疫力，然而在對人類機體進行試驗之前我們需要進行大量工作來確定該過程是否在可以緊密控制的條件下完成。
胸腺會隨著機體年齡的增加而老化，這也就是為何老年人往往更容易感染流感的原因；這項研究為揭示迪格奧爾格症候群患者的發病機制提供了一定思路；研究者Rob Buckle最後說道，目前再生醫學領域的一個關鍵點就是利用機體的自身修復機制來有效治療疾病，本文的研究成果對於器官再生領域又是一項新的重大突破。（生物谷Bioon.com）
Nicholas Bredenkamp*, Craig S. Nowell‡ and C. Clare Blackburn§
Thymic involution is central to the decline in immune system function that occurs with age. By regenerating the thymus, it may therefore be possible to improve the ability of the aged immune system to respond to novel antigens. Recently, diminished expression of the thymic epithelial cell (TEC)-specific transcription factor Forkhead box N1 (FOXN1) has been implicated as a component of the mechanism regulating age-related involution. The effects of upregulating FOXN1 function in the aged thymus are, however, unknown. Here, we show that forced, TEC-specific upregulation of FOXN1 in the fully involuted thymus of aged mice results in robust thymus regeneration characterized by increased thymopoiesis and increased naive T cell output. We demonstrate that the regenerated organ closely resembles the juvenile thymus in terms of architecture and gene expression profile, and further show that this FOXN1-mediated regeneration stems from an enlarged TEC compartment, rebuilt from progenitor TECs. Collectively, our data establish that upregulation of a single transcription factor can substantially reverse age-related thymic involution, identifying FOXN1 as a specific target for improving thymus function and, thus, immune competence in patients. More widely, they demonstrate that organ regeneration in an aged mammal can be directed by manipulation of a single transcription factor, providing a provocative paradigm that may be of broad impact for regenerative biology.