Attenuation of homeostatic signaling from apoptotic thymocytes triggers a global regenerative response in the thymus

The molecular triggers of organotypic tissue repair are unknown. The thymus, which is the primary site of T cell development, is a model of tissue damage and regeneration as it is particularly sensitive to insult, but also has a remarkable capacity for repair. However, acute and profound damage, such as that caused by common cytoreductive therapies or age-related decline, lead to involution of the thymus and prolonged T cell deficiency, precipitating life-threatening infections and malignant relapse. Consequently, there is an unmet need to boost thymic function and enhance T cell immunity. Here, we demonstrate an innate trigger of the reparative response in the thymus, centered on the attenuation of signaling directly downstream of apoptotic cell detection as thymocytes are depleted after acute damage. We found that the intracellular pattern recognition receptor NOD2, via induction of microRNA-29c, suppressed the induction of the regenerative factors IL-23 and BMP4, from thymic dendritic cells (DCs) and endothelial cells (ECs), respectively. During steady-state, when a high proportion of thymocytes are undergoing apoptosis (as a consequence of selection events during T cell development), this suppressive pathway is constitutively activated by the detection of exposed phosphatidylserine on apoptotic thymocytes by cell surface TAM receptors on DCs and ECs, with subsequent downstream activation of the Rho GTPase Rac1. However, after damage, when profound cell depletion occurs across the thymus, the TAM-Rac1-NOD2-miR29c pathway is abrogated, therefore triggering the increase in IL-23 and BMP4 levels. Importantly, this pathway could be modulated pharmacologically by inhibiting Rac1 GTPase activation with the small molecule inhibitor EHT1864, leading to increased thymic function and T cell recovery after acute damage. In conclusion, our work not only represents a novel regenerative strategy for restoring immune competence in patients whose thymic function has been compromised due to cytoreductive conditioning, infection, or age; but also, identifies a mechanism by which tissue regenerative responses are triggered.