Molecular And Functional Characterization Of Clonogenic Human Thymic Epithelial Cells

The study explored the stem cell potency and regenerative capacity of the human thymus, revealing that the human thymus contained clonogenic thymic epithelial cells (hTECs) capable of self-renewal and maintaining a thymic phenotype in culture. These hTECs were categorized into three sub-populations with distinct molecular phenotypes and growth potentials. The role of the Foxn1 transcription factor was crucial for the growth of one hTEC sub-population. Although hTECs did not differentiate into epidermis in an epidermal differentiation assay, likely due to the absence of necessary morphogenetic signals, the study highlighted the potential of hTECs as thymic epithelial stem cells.