Plasticity of neuroendocrine-thymus interactions during ontogeny and ageing: Role of zinc and arginine

Ageing Research Reviews

Volumn 5, Issue 3, 2006, Pages 281-309

  Mocchegiani, Eugenio ^a   Santarelli, Lory ^b   Costarelli, Laura ^a   Cipriano, Catia ^a   Muti, Elisa ^a   Giacconi, Robertina ^a   Malavolta, Marco ^a  

^a INRCA   (Italy)

^b UNIVERSITÀ POLITECNICA DELLE MARCHE   (Italy)

Author keywords

Ageing; Arginine; Cytokines; Growth hormone; Hormone receptors; Melatonin; Ontogeny; Thymic epithelial cells; Thymic rejuvenation; Thymus hypothalamus pituitary adrenal axis; Zinc pool

Indexed keywords

ARGININE; CYTOKINE; ENZYME; GONADORELIN; GROWTH HORMONE; HORMONE RECEPTOR; LIOTHYRONINE; MELATONIN; NITRIC OXIDE; THYMULIN; THYMUS PEPTIDE; THYROID HORMONE; THYROXINE; TRACE ELEMENT; ZINC; ZINC FINGER PROTEIN;

AGE; AGING; APOPTOSIS; CELL FUNCTION; CELL PROLIFERATION; DIET SUPPLEMENTATION; ENDOCRINOLOGY; ENZYME ACTIVATION; ENZYME ACTIVITY; EPITHELIUM CELL; GENE EXPRESSION; HORMONE ACTION; HUMAN; IMMUNE SYSTEM; LYMPHOCYTE DIFFERENTIATION; NERVE CELL PLASTICITY; NEUROENDOCRINE SYSTEM; ONTOGENY; PEPTIDE SYNTHESIS; PROTEIN EXPRESSION; PROTEIN FUNCTION; SHORT SURVEY; STEM CELL; T LYMPHOCYTE; THYMOCYTE; THYMUS; TUMOR CELL LINE;

AGING; ANIMALS; ARGININE; DIETARY SUPPLEMENTS; GROWTH HORMONE; HUMANS; IMMUNE SYSTEM; MELATONIN; NEUROSECRETORY SYSTEMS; REJUVENATION; THYMUS GLAND; ZINC;

ANIMALIA;

EID: 33748531801     PISSN: 15681637     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1016/j.arr.2006.06.001     Document Type: Short Survey

References (140)

1. Albina J.E., Caldwell M.D., Henry Jr. W.L., and Mills C.D. Regulation of macrophage functions by l-arginine. J. Exp. Med. 169 (1989) 1021-1029
2. Alves L.A., de Carvalho A.C., and Savino W. Gap junctions: a novel route for direct cell-cell communication in the immune system?. Immunol. Today 19 (1998) 269-275
3. Anderson G., and Jenkinson E.J. Lymphostromal interactions in thymic development and function. Nat. Rev. Immunol. 1 (2001) 31-40
4. Angioni S., Iori G., Cellini M., Sardelli S., Massolo F., Petraglia F., and Genazzani A.R. Acute beta-interferon or thymopentin administration increases plasma growth hormone and cortisol levels in children. Acta Endocrinol. (Copenh) 127 (1992) 237-241
5. Arvat E., Ceda G.P., Di Vito L., Ramunni J., Gianotti L., Broglio F., Deghenghi R., and Ghigo E. Age-related variations in the neuroendocrine control, more than impaired receptor sensitivity, cause the reduction in the GH-releasing activity of GHRPs in human aging. Pituitary 1 (1998) 51-58
6. Arzt E., Buric R., Stelzer G., Stalla J., Sauer J., Renner U., and Stalla G.K. Interleukin involvement in anterior pituitary cell growth regulation: effects of IL-2 and IL-6. Endocrinology 132 (1993) 459-467
7. Aspinall R., and Andrew D. Thymic involution in aging. J. Clin. Immunol. 20 (2000) 250-256
8. Ban E., Gagnerault M.C., Jammes H., Postel-Vinay M.C., Haour F., and Dardenne M. Specific binding sites for growth hormone in cultured mouse thymic epithelial cells. Life Sci. 48 (1991) 2141-2148
9. Barbieri D., Troiano L., Grassilli E., Agnesini C., Cristofalo E.A., Monti D., Capri M., Cossarizza A., and Franceschi C. Inhibition of apoptosis by zinc: a reappraisal. Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 187 (1992) 1256-1261
10. Barbul A., Rettura G., Levenson S.M., and Seifter E. Wound healing and thymotropic effects of arginine: a pituitary mechanism of action. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 37 (1983) 786-794
11. Bateman A., Singh A., Kral T., and Solomon S. The immune-hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. Endocr. Rev. 10 (1989) 92-112
12. Bernton E.W., Beach J.E., Holaday J.W., Smallridge R.C., and Fein H.G. Release of multiple hormones by a direct action of interleukin-1 on pituitary cells. Science 238 (1987) 519-521
13. Besedovsky H.O., and del Rey A. Immune-neuro-endocrine interactions: facts and hypotheses. Endocr. Rev. 17 (1996) 64-102
14. Binz K., Joller P., Froesch P., Binz H., Zapf J., and Froesch E.R. Repopulation of the atrophied thymus in diabetic rats by insulin-like growth factor I. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 87 (1990) 3690-3694
15. Blach-Olszewska Z. Innate immunity: cells, receptors, and signaling pathways. Arch. Immunol. Ther. Exp. 53 (2005) 245-253
16. Bluestone J.A., and Tang Q. How do CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cells control autoimmunity?. Curr. Opin. Immunol. 17 (2005) 638-642
17. Bogden J.D., Oleske J.M., Lavenhar M.A., Munves E.M., Kemp F.W., Bruening K.S., Holding K.J., Denny T.N., Guarino M.A., and Holland B.K. Effects of one year of supplementation with zinc and other micronutrients on cellular immunity in the elderly. J. Am. Coll. Nutr. 9 (1990) 214-225
18. Boukaiba N., Flament C., Acher S., Chappuis P., Piau A., Fusselier M., Dardenne M., and Lemonnier D. A physiological amount of zinc supplementation: effects on nutritional, lipid, and thymic status in an elderly population. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 57 (1993) 566-572
19. Champion S., Imhof B.A., Savagner P., and Thiery J.P. The embryonic thymus produces chemotactic peptides involved in the homing of hemopoietic precursors. Cell 44 (1986) 781-790
20. Chantry D., Romagnani P., Raport C.J., Wood C.L., Epp A., Romagnani S., and Gray P.W. Macrophage-derived chemokine is localized to thymic medullary epithelial cells and is a chemoattractant for CD3(+), CD4(+), CD8(low) thymocytes. Blood 94 (1999) 1890-1898
21. Chikanza I.C., and Grossman A.S. Hypothalamic-pituitary-mediated immunomodulation: arginine vasopressin is a neuroendocrine immune mediator. Br. J. Rheumatol. 37 (1998) 131-136
22. Coutinho A., Caramalho I., Seixas E., and Demengeot J. Thymic commitment of regulatory T cells is a pathway of TCR-dependent selection that isolates repertoires undergoing positive or negative selection. Curr. Top. Microbiol. Immunol. 293 (2005) 43-71
23. Cunningham B.C., Bass S., Fuh G., and Wells J.A. Zinc mediation of the binding of human growth hormone to the human prolactin receptor. Science 250 (1990) 1709-1712
24. Daneva T., Spinedi E., Hadid R., and Gaillard R.C. Impaired hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis function in Swiss nude athymic mice. Neuroendocrinology 62 (1995) 79-86
25. Dardenne M., Bukaiba N., Gagnerault M.C., Homo-Delarche F., Chappuis P., Lemmonnier D., and Savino W. Restoration of the thymus in aging mice by in vivo zinc supplementation. Clin. Immunol. Immunopathol. 66 (1993) 127-135
26. Dardenne M., Kelly P.A., Bach J.F., and Savino W. Identification and functional activity of prolactin receptors in thymic epithelial cells. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 88 (1991) 9700-9704
27. Dardenne M., Pleau J.M., Nabama B., Lefancier P., Denien M., Choay J., and Bach J.F. Contribution of zinc and other metals to the biological activity of the serum thymic factor. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 79 (1982) 5370-5375
28. Davila D.R., Brief S., Simon J., Hammer R.E., Brinster R.L., and Kelly K.W. Role of growth hormone in regulating T-dependent immune events in aged, nude and transgenic rodents. J. Neurosci. Res. 18 (1987) 108-116
29. Denicoff K.D., Durkin T.M., Lotze M.T., Quinlan P.E., Davis C.L., Listwak S.J., Rosenberg S.A., and Rubinow D.R. The neuroendocrine effects of interleukin-2 treatment. J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. 69 (1989) 402-410
30. Derbinski J., and Kyewski B. Linking signalling pathways, thymic stroma integrity and autoimmunity. Trends Immunol. 26 (2005) 503-506
31. Dhanakoti S.N., Brosnan J.T., Herzberg G.R., and Brosnan M.E. Renal arginine synthesis: studies in vitro and in vivo. Am. J. Physiol. 259 (1990) E437-E442
32. Dorshkind K., and Horseman N.D. The roles of prolactin, growth hormone, insulin-like growth factor-I, and thyroid hormones in lymphocyte development and function: insights from genetic models of hormone and hormone receptor deficiency. Endocr. Rev. 21 (2000) 292-312
33. Dugas B., Debre P., and Moncada S. Nitric oxide, a vital poison inside the immune and inflammatory network. Res. Immunol. 146 (1995) 664-670
34. Dunn A.J. Cytokine activation of the HPA axis. Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 917 (2000) 608-617
35. Elenkov I.J., Wilder R.L., Chrousos G.P., and Vizi E.S. The sympathetic nerve-an integrative interface between two supersystems: the brain and the immune system. Pharmacol. Rev. 52 (2000) 595-638
36. Fabris N., Mocchegiani E., Amadio L., Zannotti M., Licastro F., and Franceschi C. Thymic hormone deficiency in normal aging and Down's syndrome: is there a primary failure of the thymus?. Lancet 1 (1984) 983-986
37. Fabris N., Mocchegiani E., Mariotti S., Pacini F., and Pinchera A. Thyroid function modulates thymus endocrine activity. J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. 62 (1986) 474-478
38. Fabris N., Mocchegiani E., Muzzioli M., and Piloni S. Recovery of age related decline of thymic endocrine activity and PHA response by lysine-arginine combination. Int. J. Immunopharmacol. 8 (1986) 677-685
39. Fabris N., Mocchegiani E., and Provinciali M. Plasticity of neuroendocrine-thymus interactions during aging. Exp. Gerontol. 32 (1997) 415-429
40. Fabris N., and Mocchegiani E. Arginine-containing compounds and thymic endocrine activity. Thymus 19 (1992) S21-S30
41. Fabris N., and Mocchegiani E. Endocrine control of thymic serum factor production in young-adult and old mice. Cell. Immunol. 91 (1985) 325-335
42. Fabris N., and Mocchegiani E. Immunomodulating role of growth hormone. In: Bercu B.B., and Walker R.F. (Eds). Growth Hormone II (1994), Springer Verlag, New York 116-130
43. Fabris N., and Mocchegiani E. Zinc, human diseases and aging. Aging Clin. Exp. Res. 7 (1995) 77-93
44. Fabris N., Muzzioli M., and Mocchegiani E. Recovery of age-dependent immunological deterioration in Balb/c mice by short-term treatment with l-thyroxine. Mech. Ageing Dev. 18 (1982) 327-338
45. Fabris N., Pierpaoli W., and Sorkin E. Hormones and the immunological capacity. 3. The immunodeficiency disease of the hypopituitary Snell-Bagg dwarf mouse. Clin. Exp. Immunol. 9 (1971) 209-225
46. Fraker P.J., and Telford W.G. A reappraisal of the role of zinc in life and death decisions of cells. Proc. Soc. Exp. Biol. Med. 215 (1997) 229-236
47. Fukata J., Usui T., Naitoh Y., Nakai Y., and Imura H. Effects of recombinant human interleukin-1 alpha, -1 beta, 2 and 6 on ACTH synthesis and release in the mouse pituitary tumour cell line AtT-20. J. Endocrinol. 122 (1989) 33-39
48. Gaillard R.C., Turnill D., Sappino P., and Muller A.F. Tumor necrosis factor alpha inhibits the hormonal response of the pituitary gland to hypothalamic releasing factors. Endocrinology 127 (1990) 101-106
49. Garvy B.A., Telford W.G., King L.E., and Fraker P.J. Glucocorticoids and irradiation-induced apoptosis in normal murine bone marrow B-lineage lymphocytes as determined by flow cytometry. Immunology 79 (1993) 270-277
50. Geenen V., Kecha O., Brilot F., Charlet-Renard C., and Martens H. The thymic repertoire of neuroendocrine-related self antigens: biological role in T-cell selection and pharmacological implications. Neuroimmunomodulation 6 (1999) 115-125
51. Goff B.L., Roth J.A., Arp L.H., and Incefy G.S. Growth hormone treatment stimulates thymulin production in aged dogs. Clin. Exp. Immunol. 65 (1987) 580-587
52. Goya R.G., Brown O.A., and Bolognani F. The thymus-pituitary axis and its changes during aging. Neuroimmunomodulation 6 (1999) 137-142
53. Goya R.G., Sosa Y.E., Brown O.A., and Dardenne M. In vitro studies on the thymus-pituitary axis in young and old rats. Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 741 (1994) 108-114
54. Goya R.G., Gagnerault M.C., Sosa Y.E., Bevilacqua J.A., and Dardenne M. Effects of growth hormone and thyroxine on thymulin secretion in aging rats. Neuroendocrinology 58 (1993) 338-343
55. Goya R.G., Sosa Y.E., Console G.M., and Dardenne M. Altered thyrotropic and somatotropic responses to environmental challenges in congenitally athymic mice. Brain Behav. Immun. 9 (1995) 79-86
56. Greenstein B.D., Fitzpatrick F.T., Kendall M.D., and Wheeler M.J. Regeneration of the thymus in old male rats treated with a stable analogue of LHRH. J. Endocrinol. 112 (1987) 345-350
57. Hadden J.W. Thymic endocrinology. Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 840 (1998) 352-358
58. Hadley A.J., Rantle C.M., and Buckingham J.C. Thymulin stimulates corticotrophin release and cyclic nucleotide formation in the rat anterior pituitary gland. Neuroimmunomodulation 4 (1997) 62-69
59. Haks M.C., Oosterwegel M.A., Blom B., Spits H.M., and Kruisbeek A.M. Cell-fate decisions in early T cell development: regulation by cytokine receptors and the pre-TCR. Semin. Immunol. 11 (1999) 23-37
60. Haus E., and Smolensky M.H. Biologic rhythms in the immune system. Chronobiol. Int. 16 (1999) 581-622
61. Hecker M., Sessa W.C., Harris H.J., Anggard E.E., and Vane J.R. The metabolism of l-arginine and its significance for the biosynthesis of endothelium-derived relaxing factor: cultured endothelial cells recycle l-citrulline to l-arginine. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 87 (1990) 8612-8616
62. Henson S.M., Snelgrove R., Hussell T., Wells D.J., and Aspinall R. An IL-7 fusion protein that shows increased thymopoietic ability. J. Immunol. 175 (2005) 4112-4118
63. Hirokawa K., Utsuyama M., Kasai M., Konno A., Kurashima C., and Moriizumi E. Age-related hyperplasia of the thymus and T-cell system in the Buffalo rat. Immunological and immunohistological studies. Virchows. Arch. B Cell Pathol. Incl. Mol. Pathol. 59 (1990) 38-47
64. Iwata M., Hanaoka S., and Sato K. Rescue of thymocytes and T-cell hybridomas from glucocorticoidsinduced apoptosis by stimulation via the T cell receptors/CD3 complex: a possible in vitro model for positive selection of the T cell repertoire. Eur. J. Immunol. 21 (1991) 643-649
65. Karanth S., and McCann S.M. Anterior pituitary hormone control by interleukin 2. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 88 (1991) 2961-2965
66. Kelley K.W., Brief S., Westly H.J., Novakofsky J., Bechitel P.J., Simon J., and Walker E.B. GH3 pituitary adenoma cells can reverse thymic aging in rats. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 83 (1986) 5663-5667
67. Khatai L., Goessler W., Lorencova H., and Zangger K. Modulation of nitric oxide-mediated metal release from metallothionein by the redox state of glutathione in vitro. Eur. J. Biochem. 271 (2004) 2408-2416
68. Kim C.H., and Broxmeyer H.E. Chemokines: signal lamps for trafficking of T and B cells for development and effector function. J. Leukoc. Biol. 65 (1999) 6-15
69. Klug D.B., Carter C., Gimenez-Conti I.B., and Richie E.R. Cutting edge: thymocyte-independent and thymocyte-dependent phases of epithelial patterning in the fetal thymus. J. Immunol. 169 (2002) 2842-2845
70. Lanningham-Foster L., Green C.L., Langkamp-Henken B., Davis B.A., Nguyen K.T., Bender B.S., and Cousins R.J. Overexpression of CRIP in transgenic mice alters cytokine patterns and the immune response. Am. J. Physiol. Endocrinol. Metab. 282 (2002) E1197-E1203
71. Levings M.K., and Roncarolo M.G. Phenotypic and functional differences between human CD4+CD25+ and type 1 regulatory T cells. Curr. Top. Microbiol. Immunol. 293 (2005) 303-326
72. Lind D.S. Arginine and cancer. J. Nutr. 134 10 Suppl. (2004) 2837S-2841S
73. Lissoni P. The pineal gland as a central regulator of cytokine network. Neuroendocrinol. Lett. 20 (1999) 343-349
74. MacDonald R.S. The role of zinc in growth and cell proliferation. J. Nutr. 130 (2000) 1500S-1508S
75. MacLean K.H., Cleveland J.L., and Porter J.B. Cellular zinc content is a major determinant of iron chelator-induced apoptosis of thymocytes. Blood 98 (2001) 3831-3839
76. Madden K.S., and Felten D.L. Experimental basis for neural-immune interactions. Physiol. Rev. 75 (1995) 77-106
77. Maestroni G.J. The immunoneuroendocrine role of melatonin. J. Pineal Res. 14 (1993) 1-10
78. Malaise M.G., Hazee-Hagelstein M.T., Reuter A.M., Vrinds-Gevaert Y., Goldstein G., and Franchimont P. Thymopoietin and thymopentin enhance the levels of ACTH, beta-endorphin and beta-lipotropin from rat pituitary cells in vitro. Acta Endocrinol. 115 (1987) 455-460
79. Marchetti B., Morale M.C., Batticane N., Gallo F., Farinelli Z., and Cioni M. Aging of the reproductive-neuroimmune axis. Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 621 (1991) 159-173
80. Martin-Cacao A., Lopez-Gonzales M.A., Calvo J.R., Seguraand J.J., and Guerrero J.M. Melatonin binding sites in rat thymus during development. In: Touitou Y., Arendt J., and Pevet P. (Eds). Melatonin and the Pineal Gland (1993), Elsevier, Amsterdam 379-382
81. McCabe Jr. M.J., Aijiang S., and Orrenius S. Chelation of intracellular zinc triggers apoptosis in mature thymocytes. Lab. Invest. 69 (1993) 101-110
82. McCann S.M., Kimura M., Walczewska A., Karanth S., Rettori V., and Yu W.H. Hypothalamic control of FSH and LH by FSH-RF, LHRH, cytokines, leptin and nitric oxide. Neuroimmunomodulation 5 (1998) 193-202
83. McCann S.M., Milenkovic L., Gonzales M.C., Lyson K., Karanth S., and Rettori V. Endocrine aspects of neuroimmunomodulation: methods and Overview. In: De Souza E.B. (Ed). Neurobiology of Cytokines-A Volume of Methods in Neurosciences (1993), Academic Press, Boca Raton 187-201
84. Medina S., Del Rio M., Manuel Victor V., Hernanz A., and De la Fuente M. Changes with ageing in the modulation of murine lymphocyte chemotaxis by CCK-8S, GRP and NPY. Mech. Ageing Dev. 102 (1998) 249-261
85. Migliorati G., Nicoletti F., D'Adamio F., Spreca A., Pagliacci C., and Riccardi C. Dexamethasone induces apoptosis in mouse natural killer cells and cytotoxic T. lymphocytes. Immunology 81 (1994) 21-26
86. Milenkovic L., Lyson K., Aguila M.C., and McCann S.M. Effect of thymosin alpha 1 on hypothalamic hormone release. Neuroendocrinology 56 (1992) 674-679
87. Mocchegiani E., Builian D., Santarelli L., Tibaldi A., Muzzioli M., Pierpaoli W., and Fabris N. The immuno-reconstituting effect of melatonin of pineal grafting and its relation to zinc pool in aging mice. J. Neuroimmunol. 53 (1994) 189-201
88. Mocchegiani E., Cacciatore L., Talarico M., Lingetti M., and Fabris N. Recovery of low thymic hormone levels in cancer patients by lysine-arginine combination. Int. J. Immunopharmacol. 12 (1990) 365-371
89. Mocchegiani E., and Fabris N. Age-related thymus involution zinc reverses in vitro the thymulin secretion defect. Int. J. Immunopharmacol. 17 (1995) 745-749
90. Mocchegiani E., Giacconi R., Cipriano C., Gasparini N., Orlando F., Stecconi R., Muzzioli M., Isani G., and Carpenè E. Metallothioneins (I + II) and thyroid-thymus axis efficiency in old mice: role of corticosterone and zinc supply. Mech. Ageing Dev. 123 (2002) 675-694
91. Mocchegiani E., Giacconi R., Cipriano C., Muzzioli M., Gasparini N., Moresi R., Stecconi R., Suzuki H., Cavalieri E., and Mariani E. MtmRNA gene expression, via IL-6 and glucocorticoids, as potential genetic marker of immunosenescence: lessons from very old mice and humans. Exp. Gerontol. 37 (2002) 349-357
92. Mocchegiani E., Muzzioli M., Cipriano C., and Giacconi R. Zinc, T-cell pathways, aging: role of metallothioneins. Mech. Ageing Dev. 106 (1998) 183-204
93. Mocchegiani E., Muzzioli M., Gaetti R., Veccia S., Viticchi C., and Scalise G. Contribution of zinc to reduce CD4+ risk factor for 'severe' infection relapse in aging: parallelism with HIV. Int. J. Immunopharmacol. 21 (1999) 271-281
94. Mocchegiani E., Muzzioli M., and Giacconi R. Zinc and immunoresistance to infection in aging: new biological tools. Trends Pharmacol. Sci. 21 (2000) 205-208
95. Mocchegiani E., Muzzioli M., Santarelli L., and Fabris N. Restoring effect of oral supplementation of zinc and arginine on thymic endocrine activity and peripheral immune functions in aged mice. Arch. Gerontol. Geriatr. Suppl. 3 (1992) 267-275
96. Mocchegiani E., and Muzzioli M. Therapeutic application of zinc in human immunodeficiency virus against opportunistic infections. J. Nutr. 130 (2000) 1424S-1431S
97. Mocchegiani E., Nisticò G., Santarelli L., and Fabris N. The effect of arginine on thymic endocrine activity: possibile role of the l-arginine: nitric oxide pathway. In: Moncada S., Nisticò G., and Higgs E.A. (Eds). Nitric Oxide: Brain and Immune system (1993), Portland Press, London 55-63
98. Mocchegiani E., Paolucci P., Balsamo A., Cacciari E., and Fabris N. Influence of growth hormone on thymic endocrine activity in humans. Horm. Res. 33 (1990) 248-255
99. Mocchegiani E., Santarelli L., Muzzioli M., and Fabris N. Reversibility of the thymic involution and of age-related immune dysfunctions by zinc supplementation in old mice. Int. J. Immunopharmacol. 17 (1995) 703-718
100. Mocchegiani E., Santarelli L., Tibaldi A., Muzzioli M., Bulian D., Cipriano K., Olivieri F., and Fabris N. Presence of links between zinc and melatonin during the circadian cycle in old mice: effects on thymic endocrine activity and on the survival. J. Neuroimmunol. 86 (1998) 111-122
101. Mocchegiani E., Sartorio A., Santarelli L., Ferrero S., and Fabris N. Thymulin, zinc and insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) activity before and during recombinant growth hormone (rec-GH) therapy in children and adults with GH deficiency. J. Endocrinol. Invest. 19 (1996) 630-637
102. Modigliani Y., Pereira P., Thomas-Vaslin V., Salaun J., Burlen-Defranoux O., Coutinho A., Le Douarin N., and Bandeira A. Regulatory T cells in thymic epithelium-induced tolerance. I. Suppression of mature peripheral non-tolerant T cells. Eur. J. Immunol. 25 (1995) 2563-2571
103. Moll J., Eibel H., Schmid P., Sansig G., Botteri F., Palacios R., and Van der Putten H. Thymic hyperplasia in transgenic mice caused by immortal epithelial cells expressing c-kit ligand. Eur. J. Immunol. 22 (1992) 1587-1594
104. Moriguti J.C., Ferriolli E., Donadi E.A., and Marchini J.S. Effects of arginine supplementation on the humoral and innate immune response of older people. Eur. J. Clin. Nutr. 59 (2005) 1362-1366
105. Muegge K., Vila M.P., and Durum S.K. Interleukin-7: a cofactor for V(D)J rearrangement of the T cell receptor beta gene. Science 261 (1993) 93-95
106. Nagano M., Chastre E., Choquet A., Bara J., Gespach C., and Kelly P.A. Expression of prolactin and growth hormone receptor genes and their isoforms in the gastrointestinal tract. Am. J. Physiol. 268 (1995) G431-G442
107. Pazirandeh A., Jondal M., and Okret S. Glucocorticoids delay age-associated thymic involution through directly affecting the thymocytes. Endocrinology 145 (2004) 2392-2401
108. Patel D.D., and Haynes B.F. Cell adhesion molecules involved in intrathymic T cell development. Semin. Immunol. 5 (1993) 282-292
109. Park K.G., Hayes P.D., Garlick P.J., Sewell H., and Eremin O. Stimulation of lymphocyte natural cytotoxicity by l-arginine. Lancet 337 (1991) 645-646
110. Pereira M.B., Traverse M.C., Barros D.M., Bianchini A., and Martinez P.E. The effects of aging on leukocyte glucocorticoid receptor concentration and response to dexamethasone in dogs. Exp. Gerontol. 38 (2003) 989-995
111. Pieri C., Marra M., Moroni F., Recchioni R., and Marcheselli F. Melaton: a peroxil radical scavenger more effective than vitamin E. Life Sci. 55 (1994) 271-276
112. PierpaoliF W., and Regelson W. Pineal control of aging: effect of melatonin and pineal grafting on aging mice. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 91 (1994) 787-791
113. Prasad A.S., Fitzgerald J.T., Hess J.W., Kaplan J., Pelen F., and Dardenne M. Zinc deficiency in elderly patients. Nutrition 9 (1993) 218-224
114. Prasad A.S. Clinical, endocrinological and biochemical effects of zinc deficiency. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. 14 (1985) 567-589
115. Provinciali M., Di Stefano G., Bulian D., Tibaldi A., and Fabris N. Effect of melatonin and pineal grafiing on thymocyte apoptosis in aging mice. Mech. Ageing Develop. 90 (1996) 1-19
116. Reiter R.J., Tan D.X., Poeggeler B., Chen L.D., and Menendez-Pelaez A. Melatonin, free radicals and cancer initiation. In: Maestroni G.J.M., Conti A., and Reiter R. (Eds). Advances in Pineal Research (1994), John Libbey, London 211-228
117. Res P., and Spits H. Developmental stages in the human thymus. Semin. Immunol. 11 (1999) 39-46
118. Reynolds J.V., Daly J.M., Shou J., Sigal R., Ziegler M.M., and Naji A. Immunologic effects of arginine supplementation in tumor-bearing and non-tumor-bearing hosts. Ann. Surg. 211 (1990) 202-210
119. Rich B.E., and Leder P. Transgenic expression of interleukin 7 restores T cell populations in nude mice. J. Exp. Med. 181 (1995) 1223-1228
120. Ritter M.A., and Palmer D.B. The human thymic microenvironment: new approaches to functional analysis. Semin. Immunol. 11 (1999) 13-21
121. Roth J.A., Laeberle M.L., Grier D.L., Hopper J.G., Spiegel H.E., and Macallister H.A. Improvement in clinical condition and thymic morphological features associated with growth treatment of immuno-deficient dwarf-dogs. Am. J. Vet. Res. 45 (1984) 1151-1155
122. Sainz R.M., Mayo J.C., Uria H., Kotler M., Antolin I., Rodriguez C., and Menendez-Pelaez A. The pineal neurohormone melatonin prevents in vivo and in vitro apoptosis in thymocytes. J. Pineal Res. 19 (1995) 178-188
123. Santarelli L., Bracci M., and Mocchegiani E. In vitro and in vivo effects of mercuric chloride on thymic endocrine activity, NK and NKT cell cytotoxicity, cytokine profiles (IL-2, IFN-gamma, IL-6): role of the nitric oxide-l-arginine pathway. Int. Immunopharmacol. 6 (2006) 376-389
124. Savino W., Arzt E., and Dardenne M. Immunoneuroendocrine connectivity: the paradigm of the thymus-hypothalamus/pituitary axis. Neuroimmunomodulation 6 (1999) 126-136
125. Savino W., and Dardenne M. Neuroendocrine control of thymus physiology. Endocr. Rev. 21 (2000) 412-413
126. Schafer M. Cytokines and peripheral analgesia. Adv. Exp. Med. Biol. 521 (2003) 40-50
127. Sei Y., Yoshimoto K., Mcintyre A., Skolnick P., and Arora P.K. Morphine-induced thymic hypoplasia is glucocorticoid dependent. J. Immunol. 146 (1991) 194-198
128. Shankar A.H., and Prasad A.S. Zinc and immune function: the biological basis of altered resistance to infection. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 68 (1998) 447S-463S
129. Smith L.R., Brown S.L., and Blalock J.E. Interleukin-2 induction of ACTH secretion: presence of an interleukin-2 receptor alpha-chain-like molecule on pituitary cells. J. Neuroimmunol. 21 (1989) 249-254
130. Spinedi E., and Gaillard R.C. Stimulation of the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenocortical axis by the central serotonergic pathway: involvement of endogenous corticotropin-releasing hormone but not vasopressin. J. Endocrinol. Invest. 14 (1991) 551-557
131. Tijerina M., Gorospe W.C., Bowman K.L., Badamchian M., Goldstein A.L., and Spangelo B.L. A novel thymosin peptide stimulates interleukin-6 release from rat C6 glioma cells in vitro. Neuroimmunomodulation 4 (1997) 163-170
132. Timsit J., Savino W., Safieh B., Chanson P., Gagnerault M.C., Bach J.F., and Dardenne M. Growth hormone and insulin-like growth factor-I stimulate hormonal function and proliferation of thymic epithelial cells. J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metab. 75 (1992) 183-188
133. Uehara A., Gillis S., and Arimura A. Effects of interleukin-1 on hormone release from normal rat pituitary cells in primary culture. Neuroendocrinology 45 (1987) 343-347
134. Vankelecom H., Matthys P., and Denef C. Involvement of nitric oxide in the interferon-gamma-induced inhibition of growth hormone and prolactin secretion in anterior pituitary cell cultures. Mol. Cell. Endocrinol. 129 (1997) 157-167
135. Weigent D.A., and Blalock J.E. Association between the neuroendocrine and immune systems. Leukoc. Biol. 58 (1995) 137-150
136. Wise T., MacDonald G.J., Klindt J., and Ford J.J. Characterization of thymic weight and thymic peptide thymosin-beta 4: effects of hypophysectomy, sex, and neonatal sexual differentiation. Thymus 19 (1992) 235-244
137. Withyachumnarnkul B., Nonaka K.O., Santana C., Attia A.M., and Reiter R.J. Interferon-gamma modulates melatonin production in rat pineal glands in organ culture. J. Interf. Res. 10 (1990) 403-411
138. Wolf S.S., and Cohen A. Expression of cytokines and their receptors by human thymocytes and thymic stromal cells. Immunology 77 (1992) 362-368
139. Wu G., and Morris Jr. S.M. Arginine metabolism: nitric oxide and beyond. Biochem. J. 336 (1998) 1-17
140. Yarilin A.A., and Belyakov I.M. Cytokines in the thymus: production and biological effects. Curr. Med. Chem. 11 (2004) 447-464