The feline thymus is a target organ and site of viral replication during the acute stage of feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) infection. This was demonstrated by histologic, immunohistologic, flow cytometric, and virologic tests. Thymic lesions developed after 28 days postinoculation (p.i.) and included thymitis, premature cortical involution, and medullary B-cell hyperplasia with germinal ce...

Chromosome engineering in mice enables the construction of models of human chromosomal diseases and provides key reagents for genetic studies. To begin to define functional information for a small portion of chromosome 11, deficiencies, duplications, and inversions were constructed in embryonic stem cells with sizes ranging from 1 Mb to 22 cM. Two deficiencies and three duplications were establ...

The thymus is a lymphatic organ that undergoes dynamic changes with age and disease. It is important to be familiar with these physiological changes in the thymus gland to be able to identify pathology and make an accurate diagnosis. The thymus may be involved in multisystem disorders or show focal isolated lesions. The aim of this article is to review the radiological anatomy of the thymus, no...

A post-mortem examination, in the case of a 34-year-old man dying suddenly from head injuries sustained in a road accident, showed early cirrhosis of the liver and associated splenomegaly 17 years after an attack of infective hepatitis. The histology of the thymus showed abnormal changes in the medulla, consisting of epithelial hyperplasia and the presence of lymph follicles with germinal centr...

We present the case of a 54-year-old female with longstanding history of myasthenia gravis, on whom an anti ACH antibody test was positive. We performed a minimally invasive video-assisted thoracoscopic thymectomy (VATS) on this patient. Preoperatively, the patient was stabilized with intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) and Mestinon (Pyridostigmine). The pre-operative workup included a computed t...

BAFF is a potent B-cell survival factor, and it plays an essential role in B-cell homeostasis and B-cell function in the periphery. Both normal and autoreactive B cells are BAFF dependent; however, excess BAFF promotes the survival, growth, and maturation of autoreactive B cells. When overexpressed, BAFF protects B cells from apoptosis, thereby contributing to autoimmunity. Three independent st...