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. 1992 Apr;75(4):688–692.

A crucial role of the thymus in induction by the lprcg gene of lymphadenopathy with autoimmunity in the mouse.

A Matsuzawa 1, T Moriyama 1, Y Ogata 1, T Katagiri 1, M Kimura 1
PMCID: PMC1384851  PMID: 1592441

Abstract

The new mutation at the lpr locus, lprcg, induces massive lymphoproliferation characterized by the selective expansion of CD4-, CD8-, B220+, Thy-1+ cells or double-negative T lymphocytes and production of autoantibodies as does lpr. The thymus is necessary for the induction of anomalous double-negative T lymphocytes and autoimmune symptoms by lpr. To determine whether or not the thymus is also indispensable to expression of the function of lrpcg, lprcg homozygous athymic nude mice (lprcg/lprcg nu/nu; lprcg nudes) were constructed by crossing CBA/KlJms-lprcg/lprcg (CBA-lprcg) and DDD/l-nu/nu mice and observed for lymphoid organ hyperplasia and autoantibody production with or without thymus grafts from various strains of mice including CBA-lprcg. Neither lymphoproliferation nor significantly increased production of autoantibodies was observed in unmanipulated lprcg nudes. In contrast, thymus grafts of both +/+ and lprcg/lprcg genotypes caused lymphoid organ hyperplasia composed of anomalous double-negative T lymphocytes and significantly augmented the production of antibodies against single-stranded DNA (ssDNA). Interestingly, serum Ig and anti-ssDNA antibody levels rose in response to thymus grafts only in IgG but not in IgM classes. These results indicate that the thymus plays a crucial role in the induction of abnormal T-cell differentiation by lprcg and that thymic genotype is irrelevant.

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Selected References

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