Mr. Hartsell, a 70-year-old man, had his thymus gland removed as a treatment for an autoimmune disease he has. Predict the effect of his thymectomy on T cell production

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

We would not expect to see a decline in immune function in a 70-year-old man due to the enormous number of immunocompetent T cells produced during infancy and childhood. The thymus is very active in infants and children and reaches its maximum size in individuals about 12-14 years old. After this point, it begins to atrophy and the thymic tissue is gradually replaced with fat. As the thymus atrophies, its production of mature T cells decreases as well. Indeed, by age 65, the rate of T cell production falls to about 2% of the rate at which an infant produces T cells. So, although new mature T cell production would cease, it is already very low at his age and so would likely have little overall effect.