Modeling the development of the post-natal mouse thymus in the absence of bone marrow progenitors

Many mathematical models have been published with the purpose of explaining aspects of T-cell development in the thymus. In this manuscript we adapted a four-compartment model of the thymus and used a range of mathematical approaches with the aim of explaining the dynamics of the four main thymocyte populations in the mouse thymus, from the emergence of the first fetal thymocyte until the death of the animal. At various pre-natal and post-natal stages we investigated experimentally the number and composition of thymocytes populations, their apoptosis and proliferation, along with data from literature, to create and validate the model. In our model the proliferation processes are characterized by decreasing proliferation rates, which allows us to model the natural involution of the thymus. The best results were obtained when different sets of parameters were used for the fetal and post-natal periods, suggesting that birth may induce a discontinuity in the modeled processes. Our model is able to model the development of both pre-natal and post-natal thymocyte populations. Also, our findings showed that the post-natal thymus is able to develop in the absence of the daily input of bone marrow progenitors, providing more evidence to support the autonomous development of the post-natal thymus.