The thymus is responsible for producing the hormone thymosin, which in turn aids in the production of T cells. While in the thymus, T cells multiply, acquire different antigen receptors, and differentiate into helper T cells and cytotoxic T cells. Various proteins (e.g., CD4, CD8) are expressed on the T cell surface.

T cells are derived from haematopoietic stem cells that are found in the bone marrow. The progenitors of these cells migrate to and colonise the thymus.

the thymus gland

Helper T cells are arguably the most important cells in adaptive immunity, as they are required for almost all adaptive immune responses. They not only help activate B cells to secrete antibodies and macrophages to destroy ingested microbes, but they also help activate cytotoxic T cells to kill infected target cells.

How To Boost Your Immune System

1. Get some sun. The same t-cells that benefit from sleep form part of the body’s response to viruses and bacteria, and one of the key ingredients that ‘primes’ those t-cells for action is vitamin D.
2. Reach for vitamin C foods.
3. Incorporate garlic in your diet.

Cytotoxic T-lymphocytes (CTL) are famous for their ability to kill tumor, allogeneic and virus-infected cells. However, an emerging literature has now demonstrated that CTL also possess the ability to directly recognize and kill bacteria, parasites, and fungi.

In addition, NK cells are short lived, with an average life span of 2 weeks (15). Thus, research has focused on developing methods to expand NK cell populations, increase their life span, and potentiate their cytotoxicity.

We found that thymectomy in MG resulted in a fall in peripheral blood (PB) TREC+ T cell concentrations when thymopoiesis was active at the time of surgery. In contrast, naive phenotype T cell levels did not fall after thymectomy, whereas memory phenotype T cell concentrations rose after thymectomy.

Surgical removal of the thymus has no effect on the immune system for someone after they are born. A thymectomy is the surgical removal of the thymus gland, which has been shown to play a role in the development of myasthenia gravis.

The innate immune system is always general, or nonspecific, meaning anything that is identified as foreign or non-self is a target for the innate immune response. The innate immune system is activated by the presence of antigens and their chemical properties.

Based on emerging knowledge on the different effector T-cell and innate lymphoid cell (ILC) lineages, it is clear that the innate and adaptive immune systems converge into 3 major kinds of cell-mediated effector immunity, which we propose to categorize as type 1, type 2, and type 3.

The non-specific immune system involves cells to which antigens are not specific in regards to fighting infection. The non-specific immune cells mentioned above (macrophages, neutrophils, and dendritic cells) will be discussed regarding their immediate response to infection.

γδ T cells are considered innate immune cells due to their innate-like characteristics. Notably, unlike conventional T cells, they can be activated without the help of APCs and do not require MHC class I or II peptide presentation (153).