MIT Creates Liver-Based 'Factory' to Restore Aging Immune Systems

What Happened Scientists led by Professor Feng Zhang at MIT and the Broad Institute have created an innovative solution to one of aging’s most challenging problems: the decline of immune function. Their approach bypasses the thymus gland, which normally produces and trains T cells but shrinks dramatically with age, by converting liver cells into temporary producers of crucial immune signals. The research team identified three key molecular factors that the thymus normally uses to promote T-cell maturation and diversity.