Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Journal of Anatomy logoLink to Journal of Anatomy
. 1981 Jan;132(Pt 1):137–143.

Accumulation and proliferation of lymphocytes in the lymph nodes of the female rat following first mating.

E I Shaya, J M McLean, A C Gibbs
PMCID: PMC1233401  PMID: 7275787

Abstract

Iliac and popliteal lymph nodes were removed from Sprague-Dawley female rats killed at 12-13 weeks of age in groups of 10 animals: one group of virgin controls and 10 groups at intervals of two days until the tenth day after either 'inbred' or outbred mating. The iliac lymph nodes on the second post-coital day after outbred mating were significantly heavier than those of virgin animals and on the fourth postcoital day were significantly heavier after outbred mating than 'inbred' mating. The total lymphocyte counts in the iliac and popliteal lymph nodes were significantly less in the virgin animals than those made on ;the second post-coital day after both 'inbred' and outbred mating. These increased counts were sustained until the tenth post-coital day and were associated with significantly increased lymphocyte cell densities in the nodes. Such lymphocyte accumulation probably results from an endogenous or exogenous hormonal stimulus. The proportions of proliferating cells in the lymphocyte population of the iliac and popliteal lymph nodes from the fourth until the tenth post-coital day were significantly greater after outbred mating than after 'inbred' mating. These observations indicate that after outbred mating the female animal mounts an immune response to the allogeneic spermatozoa and semiallogeneic products of conception within her reproductive tract.

Full text

PDF
137

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Allen E. D., McLean J. M. Some observations on pelvic lymph nodes of the rabbit during pregnancy. J Anat. 1971 Jul;109(Pt 2):201–207. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Ansell J. D., McDougall C. M., Speedy G., Inchley C. J. Changes in lymphocyte accumulation and proliferation in the lymph nodes draining the pregnant uterus. Clin Exp Immunol. 1978 Mar;31(3):397–407. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Baines M. G., Pross H. F., Millar K. G. Effects of pregnancy on the maternal lymphoid system in mice. Obstet Gynecol. 1977 Oct;50(4):457–461. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Beer A. E., Billingham R. E. Immunobiology of mammalian reproduction. Adv Immunol. 1971;14:1–84. doi: 10.1016/s0065-2776(08)60283-7. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Beer A. E., Neaves W. B. Antigenic status of semen from the viewpoints of the female and male. Fertil Steril. 1978 Jan;29(1):3–22. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Beer A. E., Scott J. R., Billingham R. E. Histoincompatibility and maternal immunological status as determinants of fetoplacental weight and litter size in rodents. J Exp Med. 1975 Jul 1;142(1):180–196. doi: 10.1084/jem.142.1.180. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Chambers S. P., Clarke A. G. Measurement of thymus weight, lumbar node weight and progesterone levels in syngeneically pregnant, allogeneically pregnant, and pseudopregnant mice. J Reprod Fertil. 1979 Mar;55(2):309–315. doi: 10.1530/jrf.0.0550309. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Dineen J. K., Adams D. B. The effect of long-term lymphatic drainage on the lympho-myeloid system in the guinea-pig. Immunology. 1970 Jul;19(1):11–30. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Ford W. L., Gowans J. L. The role of lymphocytes in antibody formation. II. The influence of lymphocyte migration on the initiation of antibody formation in the isolated, perfused spleen. Proc R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 1967 Sep 12;168(1012):244–262. doi: 10.1098/rspb.1967.0064. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Forster P. M., McLean J. M., Gibbs A. C. Lymphoid response to pregnancy and pseudopregnancy in the rat. J Anat. 1979 Jun;128(Pt 4):837–845. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Hetherington C. M. The absence of any effect of maternal-fetal incompatibility at the H-2 and H-3 loci on pregnancy in the mouse. J Reprod Fertil. 1973 Apr;33(1):135–139. doi: 10.1530/jrf.0.0330135. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Maroni E. S., de Sousa M. A. The lymphoid organs during pregnancy in the mouse. A comparison between a syngeneic and an allogeneic mating. Clin Exp Immunol. 1973 Jan;13(1):107–124. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. McLean J. M., Mosley J. G., Gibbs A. C. Changes in the thymus, spleen and lymph nodes during pregnancy and lactation in the rat. J Anat. 1974 Nov;118(Pt 2):223–229. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. McLean J. M., Shaya E. I., Gibbs A. C. Immune response to first mating in the female rat. J Reprod Immunol. 1980 Feb;1(5-6):285–295. doi: 10.1016/0165-0378(80)90002-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Mosley J. G., McLean J. M., Gibbs A. C. The response of iliac lymph nodes to the fetal allograft. J Anat. 1975 Jul;119(Pt 3):619–623. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Rowley D. A., Gowans J. L., Atkins R. C., Ford W. L., Smith M. E. The specific selection of recirculating lymphocytes by antigen in normal and preimmunized rats. J Exp Med. 1972 Sep 1;136(3):499–513. doi: 10.1084/jem.136.3.499. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. SCOTHORNE R. J., MCGREGOR I. A. Cellular changes in lymph nodes and spleen following skin homografting in the rabbit. J Anat. 1955 Jul;89(3):283–292. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Sprent J., Miller J. F., Mitchell G. F. Antigen-induced selective recruitment of circulating lymphocytes. Cell Immunol. 1971 Apr;2(2):171–181. doi: 10.1016/0008-8749(71)90036-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Zatz M. M., Lance E. M. The distribution of 51Cr-labeled lymphocytes into antigen-stimulated mice. Lymphocyte trapping. J Exp Med. 1971 Jul 1;134(1):224–241. doi: 10.1084/jem.134.1.224. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Journal of Anatomy are provided here courtesy of Anatomical Society of Great Britain and Ireland

RESOURCES