Thymus cortex (rat, young adult)

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Title Thymus cortex (rat, young adult)
Creator Poels, Lambert G.
Contributor Lambert G. Poels, PhD, UMC St Radboud Nijmegen; Paul H. K. Jap, PhD, UMC St Radboud Nijmegen
Date 2010-06-11
Subject MHC class I and II expression; epithelioreticular cell type I and II; thymic nurse cell TNC; lymphoid tissue
Description Electron microscopy. Within the thymic cortex a type II epithelioreticular cell or so-called (sometimes multinucleated) thymic nurse cell (TNC) shows a characteristic electron-light nucleus and nucleolus (1). The branches are squeezed between the thymocytes (2). In the cytoplasm a variety of empty as well as granules-containing vacuoles (*) are present, probably containing thymulin. Background: usually four morphological types of cortical thymic epithelial cell types are described (cTECs): EC1 subcapsular and perivascular; pale EC2 with a high MHC-II expression; intermediate EC3 and dark EC4. Epithelioreticular cells produce thymosin, thymulin and other humoral factors, they also express MHC I and MHC II molecules for thymocyte education. Both the developing thymocytes and epithelioreticular cells affect each other during differentiation (so-called crosstalk).
Subtype Image
Format image/jpeg
Rights https://rightsstatements.org/page/CNE/1.0/
Collection Poja Histology Collection - Lymphatic Tissues and Organs Subset
ARK ark:/87278/s64r0x7n
Setname ehsl_heal
ID 890866
Reference URL https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s64r0x7n
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