A critical immune organ called the thymus shrinks rapidly with age, putting older individuals at greater risk for life-threatening infections. A new study reveals that thymus atrophy may stem from a ...

Microenvironmental cells in the thymus constitutively produce hormones that are typically secreted by the pituitary gland, such as growth hormone, prolactin, oxytocin and vasopressin Glucocorticoids ...

Scientists have shown how aging cripples the production of new immune cells, decreasing the immune system's response to vaccines and putting the elderly at risk of infection. Scientists from the ...

HOUSTON –(Sept. 3, 2007)– Osteopontin (OPN), a protein molecule involved in many different cellular processes, plays a significant role in immune deficiency and organ atrophy following chronic ...

The research focused on an organ called the thymus, which produces T lymphocytes, critical immune cells that must be continuously replenished to respond to new infections. “The thymus begins to ...

A ground-based, experimental model used to simulate astronaut weightlessness in space has provided Rutgers scientists an opportunity to study the effects of stress on immune organs. Earlier ...

The process of aging is associated with a decline in immune functions and persistent low-level inflammation. Now, researchers ...

Weightlessness may sound relaxing, but a new study shows its effects may be stressful for organs that create armies of disease-fighting cells. Scientists conducted an experiment with mice that ...