Interplay between Follistatin, Activin A, and BMP4 Signaling Regulates Postnatal Thymic Epithelial Progenitor Cell Differentiation during Aging (Cell Reports)

Mechanisms underlying age-associated thymic involution remain elusive. Here, Lepletier et al. show that an imbalance in activin A and BMP4 signaling drives thymic involution. This occurs in two major stages: impairment of medullary TEC differentiation and initiation of TEPC quiescence, followed by the broader, negative impact of reduced lineage committed precursors.