Previous workfrom this laboratory has demonstrated that the IL-6 family member, leukemiainhibitory factor (LIF), mediates acute thymic atrophy locally by stimulation ofintrathymic pathways and systemically by activation of the HPA axis [13].Furthermore, in a model of age-related, chronic thymic involution, investigatorscompared rapidly-involuting strains of mice with slowly-involuting strains of thesame age. Here, IL6 is linked to Atrophy.