The Expansion of Thymopoiesis in Neonatal Mice is Dependent on Expression of High mobility group A 2 protein (Hmga2). Mus musculus

The most immature progenitors in the murine thymus are early T lineage progenitors (ETP). These cells are the precursors of more mature thymocytes that ultimately leave the thymus and colonize peripheral lymphoid tissues. As part of our efforts to define age-related changes in ETP, we harvested them from mice of different ages and performed whole transcriptome profiling. This analysis revealed major differences in patterns of gene expression between young and old ETP, and we were particularly struck by the significantly reduced expression of the gene encoding high mobility group A 2 protein (Hmga2). Overall design: The experiment compares gene expression in young adult (4-6 week old) and old (72 week old) mouse Early T Lineage Progenitors (ETP)