{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,3]],"date-time":"2026-03-03T17:46:36Z","timestamp":1772559996286,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":45,"publisher":"Oxford University Press (OUP)","issue":"4","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2018,2,1]],"date-time":"2018-02-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1517443200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/academic.oup.com\/pages\/standard-publication-reuse-rights"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2018,2,15]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n               <jats:p>Despite the well-documented effect of castration in thymic regeneration, the singular contribution of the bone marrow (BM) versus the thymus to this process remains unclear. The chief role of IL-7 in pre- and intrathymic stages of T lymphopoiesis led us to investigate the impact of disrupting this cytokine during thymic rebound induced by androgen blockade. We found that castration promoted thymopoiesis in young and aged wild-type mice. In contrast, only young germline IL-7\u2013deficient (Il7\u2212\/\u2212) mice consistently augmented thymopoiesis after castration. The increase in T cell production was accompanied by the expansion of the sparse medullary thymic epithelial cell and the peripheral T cell compartment in young Il7\u2212\/\u2212 mice. In contrast to young Il7\u2212\/\u2212 and wild-type mice, the poor thymic response of aged Il7\u2212\/\u2212 mice after castration was associated with a defect in the expansion of BM hematopoietic progenitors. These findings suggest that BM-derived T cell precursors contribute to thymic rebound driven by androgen blockade. To assess the role of IL-7 within the thymus, we generated mice with conditional deletion of IL-7 (Il7 conditional knockout [cKO]) in thymic epithelial cells. As expected, Il7cKO mice presented a profound defect in T cell development while maintaining an intact BM hematopoietic compartment across life. Unlike Il7\u2212\/\u2212 mice, castration promoted the expansion of BM precursors and enhanced thymic activity in Il7cKO mice independently of age. Our findings suggest that the mobilization of BM precursors acts as a prime catalyst of castration-driven thymopoiesis.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.4049\/jimmunol.1701112","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2018,1,10]],"date-time":"2018-01-10T16:33:16Z","timestamp":1515601996000},"page":"1389-1398","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":12,"title":["Intrathymic Deletion of IL-7 Reveals a Contribution of the Bone Marrow to Thymic Rebound Induced by Androgen Blockade"],"prefix":"10.1093","volume":"200","author":[{"given":"Pedro M","family":"Rodrigues","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Instituto de Investiga\u00e7\u00e3o e Inova\u00e7\u00e3o em Sa\u00fade, Universidade do Porto , 4200-135 Porto,","place":["Portugal"]},{"name":"Thymus Development and Function Laboratory, Institute for Molecular and Cellular Biology , 4200-135 Porto,","place":["Portugal"]},{"name":"Doctoral Program in Biomedical Sciences, Abel Salazar Biomedical Sciences Institute, University of Porto , 4050-313 Porto,","place":["Portugal"]}]},{"given":"Ana R","family":"Ribeiro","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Instituto de Investiga\u00e7\u00e3o e Inova\u00e7\u00e3o em Sa\u00fade, Universidade do Porto , 4200-135 Porto,","place":["Portugal"]},{"name":"Thymus Development and Function Laboratory, Institute for Molecular and Cellular Biology , 4200-135 Porto,","place":["Portugal"]}]},{"given":"Nicolas","family":"Serafini","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Innate Immunity Unit, Pasteur Institute , 75724 Paris,","place":["France"]},{"name":"INSERM U1223 , 75015 Paris,","place":["France"]}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1627-794X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Catarina","family":"Meireles","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Instituto de Investiga\u00e7\u00e3o e Inova\u00e7\u00e3o em Sa\u00fade, Universidade do Porto , 4200-135 Porto,","place":["Portugal"]},{"name":"Thymus Development and Function Laboratory, Institute for Molecular and Cellular Biology , 4200-135 Porto,","place":["Portugal"]}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7146-1862","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"James P","family":"Di Santo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Innate Immunity Unit, Pasteur Institute , 75724 Paris,","place":["France"]},{"name":"INSERM U1223 , 75015 Paris,","place":["France"]}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1567-8389","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Nuno L","family":"Alves","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Instituto de Investiga\u00e7\u00e3o e Inova\u00e7\u00e3o em Sa\u00fade, Universidade do Porto , 4200-135 Porto,","place":["Portugal"]},{"name":"Thymus Development and Function Laboratory, Institute for Molecular and Cellular Biology , 4200-135 Porto,","place":["Portugal"]}]}],"member":"286","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2018,2,15]]},"reference":[{"key":"2025030610020124400_r1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"443","DOI":"10.1016\/j.coph.2010.04.008","article-title":"Emerging strategies to boost thymic function","volume":"10","author":"Holl\u00e4nder","year":"2010","journal-title":"Curr. 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