Thymic Slice Culture
Thymic Slice Culture - Related Videos
10:10
Preparation and Applications of Organotypic Thymic Slice Cultures
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Cited by 8 •
2016
We describe the preparation of thymic slices that, in combination with flow cytometry, can be used to model positive and negative selection of developing T cells. Thymic slices can also be adapted for the in situ analysis of thymocyte migration, localization, and signaling via immunofluorescence and two-photon microscopy.
05:06
Three-Dimensional Thymic Culture System to Generate iPSC-Derived Thymic Emigrants
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2025
This video demonstrates a protocol for generating functional antigen-specific T cells from iPSC-derived immature T cells using a three-dimensional thymic culture system. Co-culturing the iPSC-derived immature T cells with endogenous lymphocyte-depleted mice fetal thymic lobes resulted in successful maturation of the T cells to form CD8αβ+ MHC class I+ iPSC-derived thymic emigrants (iTEs).
08:20
Organotypic Hippocampal Slice Cultures
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Cited by 52 •
2011
We describe a method to prepare organotypic hippocampal slices that can be easily adapted to other brain regions. Brain slices are laid on porous membranes and culture media is allowed to form an interface. This method preserves the gross architecture of the hippocampus for up to 2 weeks in culture.
08:56
Characterization of Thymic Settling Progenitors in the Mouse Embryo Using In Vivo and In Vitro Assays
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2015
This article describes in vivo and in vitro methodology to characterize the thymic settling progenitors by the analysis of the kinetics of generation, phenotype and numbers of their T cell progeny.
11:16
Preparation and Culture of Chicken Auditory Brainstem Slices
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Cited by 17 •
2011
The chicken auditory brainstem is comprised of nuclei responsible for binaural sound processing. A single coronal slice preparation maintains the entire circuitry while the cultured approach provides a unique preparation to study the development of neuronal structure and auditory function at the molecular, cellular and network levels.
FAQs
Maintaining contacts among developing thymocytes, epithelial cells, and other stromal components allows cellular interactions to continue within their tissue context. These relationships help preserve signaling networks that guide selection and maturation more effectively than a system composed only of isolated cells. Consequently, researchers can examine developmental changes while retaining features of the thymic microenvironment.
Thymic slice culture supports investigation of how thymocytes are selected as they develop. Positive and negative selection can be studied alongside antigen presentation because relevant thymic cells remain spatially associated. This makes it possible to examine how local cellular interactions influence whether developing T cells progress through maturation or are removed during selection.
An air-liquid interface provides a way to support thin tissue sections while exposing them to nutrient medium without fully immersing the tissue. In the described system, this arrangement helps maintain tissue architecture and functional signaling networks during ex vivo culture. Preserving those features is important when assessing changes in thymocyte development within an organized thymic environment.
The workflow begins with thin sections of thymus tissue, which are placed on support in nutrient medium. Culture is often maintained at an air-liquid interface so the slices remain viable while their internal organization is retained. Researchers can then examine thymocyte selection and maturation or introduce an immune challenge or intervention to study effects on the tissue.
Researchers can use the model to observe how pathogen-associated or inflammation-induced changes affect the thymic microenvironment. Because thymocytes, epithelial cells, and stromal components remain together, the response can be examined as a tissue-level process rather than only through isolated cell populations. This supports analysis of altered antigen presentation, selection, or T cell maturation after immune challenge.
The system provides a physiologically relevant setting for evaluating how an intervention changes T cell development within thymic tissue. Outcomes may include effects on positive or negative selection, antigen presentation, signaling networks, and maturation. Comparing treated slices with challenged or untreated conditions can help reveal whether a therapy modifies immune development through changes in the local microenvironment.