Elsevier

Cellular Immunology

Volume 1, Issue 5, November 1970, Pages 545-560
Cellular Immunology

Characteristics of the immunocompetent cells in the mouse thymus: Cell population changes during cortisone-induced atrophy and subsequent regeneration

https://doi.org/10.1016/0008-8749(70)90041-9Get rights and content

Abstract

The cellular composition and the immunological reactivity of the mouse thymus were studied during the involution and regeneration induced by cortisone. It was found that the majority of the thymus cells that disappeared during the first 2 days after cortisone treatment were immunologically inert, since the total immunological reactivity of the organ was almost unaffected despite the fact that the total cell number was reduced to 3%. The remaining immunocompetent cells exhibited a larger average cell volume than did the bulk of the thymus cells. They were also relatively radioresistant as compared to the thymus cells of untreated mice. The immunological reactivity was measured by a graft-versus-host test and by the capacity of the cells to restore humoral antibody production of thymectomized, irradiated, and bone marrow reconstituted mice. During the early regenerative phase the relative immunological competence and the proportion of radioresistant thymus cells decreased in parallel. During this time period the volume of the cells increased. Regeneration was completed around day 14 after cortisone treatment when both the cellular composition and the immunological reactivity were normalized.

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