What would be the expected phenotype of a person born withou

What would be the expected phenotype of a person born without a thymus? Please explain with immunological terms (this is for an immunology class)

Solution

The thymus gland, located behind your sternum and between your lungs, is only active until puberty. After puberty, the thymus starts to slowly shrink and become replaced by fat. Thymosin is the hormone of the thymus, and it stimulates the development of disease-fighting T cells.A person born without a thymus gland will not develop an adaptive immune system and may eventually die.DiGeorge syndrome, or congenital thymic hypoplasia, is a rare condition in which a missing portion of chromosome 22 causes a child to be born without a thymus or with one that is underdeveloped. If your child has this condition, she is vulnerable to infection. She also may have heart defects, a cleft palate, abnormal facial features and/or abnormally low calcium because of the missing portion of the chromosome. This condition has a high mortality rate, but in children who survive, the number of T-cells usually increases through childhood and normal Bcell function is present.. Survivors, however, are likely to have learning disabilities and other physical developmental issues, according to the Encyclopedia of Children\'s Health.