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Science 14 April 2006:
Vol. 312. no. 5771, p. 155
DOI: 10.1126/science.312.5771.155e
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This Week in Science

Figure 1 The thymus lies directly above the heart and acts as a cradle for developing T cells that will eventually protect the body from the many pathogens encountered during a lifetime. The thymus has been considered one of a kind, but Terszowski et al. (p. 284, published online 2 March; see the Perspective by von Boehmer) find that mice frequently possess a second, smaller thymus located in the neck. This "cervical" thymus displays all of the classical features that define the larger thoracic organ, including boundaries between distinct thymocyte compartments and markers for thymic epithelia and developing thymocytes. Moreover, T cells emerging from this smaller cousin also appear functionally competent and can populate athymic adult recipients after cervical thymus transplantation.

CREDIT: TERSZOWSKI ET AL.




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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)