Removal of the thymus as an adult has little immediate effect on the immune system as its role has been completed.
You may find the following article interesting
Differentiation and functional maturation of bone marrow-derived intestinal epithelial T cells expressing membrane T cell receptor in athymic radiation chimeras. The Journal of Immunology September 1, 1990 vol. 145 no. 5 1369-1375
1. R L Mosley,
2. D Styre and
3. J R Klein
Abstract
The thymus dependency of murine intestinal intraepithelial lymphocytes (IEL) was studied in an athymic F1----parent radiation chimera model. IEL, although not splenic or lymph node lymphocytes, from athymic chimeras displayed normal levels of cells bearing the class-specific T cell Ag, CD4 and CD8; the TCR-associated molecule, CD3; and the Thy-1 Ag. Moreover, two-color flow cytometric analyses of IEL from athymic mice demonstrated regulated expression of T cell Ag characteristic of IEL subset populations from thymus-bearing mice. In immunoprecipitation experiments, surface TCR-alpha beta or TCR-gamma delta were expressed on IEL, although not on splenic lymphocytes, from athymic chimeras. That IEL from athymic chimeras constituted a population of functionally mature effector cells activated in situ, similar to IEL from thymus-bearing mice, was demonstrated by the presence of CD3-mediated lytic activity of athymic lethally irradiated bone marrow reconstituted IEL. These data provide compelling evidence that intestinal T cells do not require thymic influence for maturation and development, and demonstrate that the microenvironment of the intestinal epithelium is uniquely adapted to regulate IEL differentiation.
Copyright © 1990 by American Association of Immunologists
Immunological Rev. (1978), Vol. 42
Published by Munksgaard, Copenhagen, Denmark
No part may be reproduced by any process without written permission
from the author(s)
Intrathymic and Extrathymic
T Cell Maturation
OSIAS STUTMAN
Ann. Rev. lmmunol. 1987.5: 325--fj5
Copyright © 1987 by Annual Reviews Inc. All rights reserved
EARLY EVENTS IN T-CELL
MATURATION
Becky Adkins, Christoph Mueller, Craig Y. Okada, Roger A.
Reichert, Irving L. Weissman, and Gerald J. Spangrude
Department of Pathology, Stanford University School of Medicine,
Stanford, California 94305
you might see in this paper the dynamics of T cells before and after thymectomy with the decline of naive RTE cells.
J Immunol 2008 180, 2240-2250
However, yo have to read more recent reviews, as older ones do not take regulatory T cells into considerarion. Therefore, neonatal thymectomy affects thymic Treg development and it is associated with autoimmunity, whereas when thymectomy is achieved later (after week three or later), there is no autoimmunity (Guerau-de-Arellano M, Martinic M, Benoist C,Mathis D. Neonatal tolerance revisited: a perinatal window for Aire control of autoimmunity. J Exp Med 2009;206:1245–1252.).
Otherwise, the reviews cited above are fine.
You might also see the work from Victor Appay and Delphine Sauce on effects of thymectomy in humans on viral infection and aging.; the work of Christine Bourgeois on chemical ablation of thymus; effect of aging and thymic involution and effect of transient immunosuppression that also alters T cell composition.
http://www.intechopen.com/books/immunosuppression-role-in-health-and-diseases/immunodepression-immunosuppression-during-aging-
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