Minipuberty and Sexual Dimorphism in the Infant Human Thymus. Minipuberty and Sexual Dimorphism in the Infant Human Thymus

AIRE expression in thymus is downregulated by estrogen after puberty, what probably renders women more susceptible to autoimmune disorders. Here we investigated the effects of minipuberty on male and female infant human thymic tissue in order to verify if this initial transient increase in sex hormones - along the first six months of life - could affect thymic transcriptional network regulation and AIRE expression. Gene co-expression network analysis for differentially expressed genes and miRNA-target analysis revealed sex differences in thymic tissue during minipuberty, but such sex differences were not detected in thymic tissues from donors aged 7-18 moths of age, the non-puberty group. AIRE expression was essentially the same in both sexes in minipuberty and in non-puberty groups, as assessed by genomic and immunohistochemical assays. However, AIRE-interactors networks showed several differences in all groups regarding gene-gene expression correlation. Therefore, minipuberty and genomic mechanisms interact in shaping thymic sexual dimorphism along the first six moths of life. This SuperSeries is composed of the SubSeries listed below. Overall design: Thymus transcriptomic profiles of patients undergoing minipuberty comparing male versus female infants in order to identify differentially expressed transcripts. Refer to individual Series

青春期后，雌激素可下调胸腺中自身免疫调节因子（Autoimmune Regulator, AIRE）的表达，这可能使女性更易罹患自身免疫性疾病。本研究旨在探究微小青春期（minipuberty）对人类婴儿胸腺组织的影响，以验证生命最初六个月内出现的性激素初始一过性升高，是否会影响胸腺转录网络调控及AIRE的表达。对差异表达基因进行基因共表达网络分析，并结合miRNA靶标分析后发现，微小青春期阶段的胸腺组织存在性别差异，但在7~18月龄的非青春期供体胸腺组织中未检测到此类性别差异。通过基因组学与免疫组织化学实验检测发现，微小青春期组与非青春期组的雌雄个体间AIRE表达水平基本一致。但就基因间表达相关性而言，所有组别中的AIRE互作网络均存在多处差异。因此，在生命最初六个月内，微小青春期与基因组学机制共同调控胸腺性别二态性的形成。本超级数据集由以下所列的子数据集构成。整体实验设计：针对接受微小青春期阶段检测的婴儿，比较雌雄个体的胸腺转录组图谱，以筛选差异表达的转录本。具体信息请参见各子数据集。