IMMUNOLOGY2026™ Conference Recordings For Attendees-Molecular mechanisms controlling the growth and functional characteristics of the neonatal and juvenile thymus microenvironments

Molecular mechanisms controlling the growth and functional characteristics of the neonatal and juvenile thymus microenvironments

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Video Summary

Nancy Manley described how the neonatal thymus shifts into a juvenile, homeostatic state. Using single-cell RNA-seq across mouse thymic stromal populations and two genetic models, her team found a sharp transcriptional transition between 7 and 14 days after birth, especially in mesenchymal and endothelial cells. A key early signal was IGF2, which declined at the transition. Related IGF pathway components also changed: IGF1 receptor decreased, IGF2 receptor and IGF-binding proteins increased, and manipulating IGF signaling altered thymic growth and thymic epithelial cell differentiation. The data suggest IGF signaling acts upstream of FOXN1 and helps control thymus growth, epithelial maturation, and T-cell development. Combined analyses across labs also revealed increased type I interferon signaling during and after the transition. Overall, the talk proposed a coordinated molecular program that drives the neonatal-to-juvenile thymus shift, with implications for T-cell output and immune function later in life.

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Date April 15, 2026 3:45 PM - 4:00 PM

Room 153AB

Session T Cell Development

Speaker Nancy Manley

Track Hematopoiesis and Immune System Development (HEM)

Year 2026

Keywords

neonatal thymus transition

IGF signaling

thymic epithelial cell differentiation

single-cell RNA-seq

type I interferon signaling

April 15, 2026 3:45 PM - 4:00 PM

153AB

T Cell Development

Nancy Manley

Hematopoiesis and Immune System Development (HEM)

2026