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Extramedullary neutrophil progenitors: Quo Vadis?

Cellular & Molecular Immunology volume 21, pages 932–934 (2024)Cite this article

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The Original Article was published on 05 June 2024

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It is textbook knowledge that the thymus is the factory of naïve T cells. Counterintuitively, naïve T cell production by the thymus is well-known to atrophy during acute inflammation [1]. Pérez and colleagues in this issue of CMI [2] present compelling evidence that during acute inflammation thymic myeloid progenitors start to produce neutrophils. This innate immune process occurs at the expense of the normal adaptive function of the thymus, being the production of T-cells.

In order to comprehend why this is a beneficial response to the host we need to understand the production and maintenance of the naïve T cell pool and of neutrophils in homeostasis and during an acute infection. Peripheral naïve T cells are long-lived and need to be activated and expand in secondary lymphoid organs. Therefore, a temporary decrease in naïve T cell production would not greatly impact the T cell response to a pathogen. Neutrophils on the other hand only have a life span of days, cannot divide and are quickly mobilized in large numbers in response to pathogenic threats and/ or tissue damage [3].

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  1. Dept. of Respiratory Medicine and Center for Translational Immunology (CTI), University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands

    Leo Koenderman & Nienke Vrisekoop

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  1. Leo Koenderman
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  2. Nienke Vrisekoop
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Correspondence to Leo Koenderman.

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Koenderman, L., Vrisekoop, N. Extramedullary neutrophil progenitors: Quo Vadis?. Cell Mol Immunol 21, 932–934 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41423-024-01191-5

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