Changes in the thymic microenvironment during the acute phase of experimental infection with Paracoccidioides brasiliensis

Abstract

The primary lymphoid organ responsible for maturation of T cells (or thymocytes, while the thymus) is the thymus, the microenvironment is composed of cellular elements and soluble precursors responsible for the migration of T lymphocytes into the perivascular space and subsequent cortical region migration to the spinal region. The integrity of the thymic microenvironment is critical for differentiation, maturation and thymocyte development, mature lymphocytes making them ready to migrate to the secondary lymphoid organs. The literature shows that changes in the thymic microenvironment may occur as a result of some pathologies. Studies in murine models of thymic atrophy point thymus as target organ of various parasitic infections, viral, helminthic and fungal infections, and even metabolic disorders. In these studies, such as in studies by our group, we observed strong affection thymic involution with organ derangement accompanied by the thymic architecture and depletion of the subpopulations of thymocytes. This work aims to expand in the first stage data on thymic changes observed in early infection Pb and, in a second step, to evaluate a possible functional recovery of the body after the early phase of infection.