Skip to main content
PMC home page
Clinical and Experimental Immunology logoLink to Clinical and Experimental Immunology
. 1981 May;44(2):247–252.

Thymic involution in pregnant mice. I. Characterization of the remaining thymocyte subpopulations.

L H Phuc, M Papiernik, S Berrih, D Duval
PMCID: PMC1537357  PMID: 6975672

Abstract

Pregnancy-induced thymic atrophy was studied in mice during the course of syngeneic gestation and the post-partum period. Cortical thymocytes were greatly reduced in number as shown by the binding of fluorescein-labelled PNA. The pool of steroid-resistant (SR) medullary thymocytes appeared unchanged in pregnant mice when studied by means of a specific heteroantiserum (SRCA). Therefore, in pregnant mice, these two surface markers demonstrated that thymic atrophy was linked to steroid-sensitive (SS) cortical cell reduction. The presumed hydrocortisone resistance of the mother's remaining thymocytes is not related to a difference in the number of steroid receptors as determined by 3H-dexamethasone binding.

Full text

PDF
247

Selected References

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

  1. Anderson D. J. The responsiveness of various maternal mouse lymphocyte populations to mitogenic stimulation in vitro. Cell Immunol. 1978 Nov;41(1):150–156. doi: 10.1016/s0008-8749(78)80034-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. 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]
  3. DOUGHERTY T. F., BERLINER M. L., SCHNEEBELI G. L., BERLINER D. L. HORMONAL CONTROL OF LYMPHATIC STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1964 Feb 28;113:825–843. doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.1964.tb40707.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. DOUGHERTY T. F. Effect of hormones on lympatic tissue. Physiol Rev. 1952 Oct;32(4):379–401. doi: 10.1152/physrev.1952.32.4.379. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Duval D., Dausse J. P., Dardenne M. Glucocorticoid receptors in corticosensitive and corticoresistant thymocyte subpopulations. I. characterization of glucocorticoid receptors and isolation of a corticoresistant subpopulation. Biochim Biophys Acta. 1976 Nov 18;451(1):82–91. doi: 10.1016/0304-4165(76)90259-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Eidinger D., Garrett T. J. Studies of the regulatory effects of the sex hormones on antibody formation and stem cell differentiation. J Exp Med. 1972 Nov 1;136(5):1098–1116. doi: 10.1084/jem.136.5.1098. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. ISHIDATE M., METCALF D. THE PATTERN OF LYMPHOPOIESIS IN THE MOUSE THYMUS AFTER CORTISONE ADMINISTRATION OR ADRENALECTOMY. Aust J Exp Biol Med Sci. 1963 Dec;41:637–649. doi: 10.1038/icb.1963.53. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Lippman M. E., Halterman R. H., Leventhal B. G., Perry S., Thompson E. B. Glucocorticoid-binding proteins in human acute lymphoblastic leukemic blast cells. J Clin Invest. 1973 Jul;52(7):1715–1725. doi: 10.1172/JCI107353. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. London J., Berrih S., Bach J. F. Peanut agglutinin. I. A new tool for studying T lymphocyte subpopulations. J Immunol. 1978 Aug;121(2):438–443. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. 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]
  11. Millar K. G., Mills P., Baines M. G. A study of the influence of pregnancy on the thymus gland of the mouse. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 1973 Dec 1;117(7):913–918. doi: 10.1016/0002-9378(73)90061-6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Nelson J. H., Jr, Hall J. E., Manuel-Limson G., Freidberg H., O'Brien F. J. Effect of pregnancy on the thymolymphatic system. I. Changes in the intact rat after exogenous HCG, estrogen, and progesterone administration. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 1967 Aug 1;98(7):895–899. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Nelson J. H., Jr, Lu T., Hall J. E., Krown S., Nelson J. M., Fox C. W. The effect of trophoblast on immune state of women. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 1973 Nov 1;117(5):689–699. doi: 10.1016/0002-9378(73)90211-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. PEPPER F. J. The effect of age, pregnancy and lactation on the thymus gland and lymph nodes of the mouse. J Endocrinol. 1961 Jul;22:335–348. doi: 10.1677/joe.0.0220335. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Papiernik M., Bach J. F. Thymocyte subpopulations in young and adult mice. II. Study of steroid-resistant populations by means of a specific heteroantiserum. Eur J Immunol. 1977 Nov;7(11):800–803. doi: 10.1002/eji.1830071111. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Papiernik M., Laroche L., Bach J. F. Thymocyte subpopulations in young and adult mice. I. Separation by density gradient and steroid treatment. Eur J Immunol. 1977 Nov;7(11):796–799. doi: 10.1002/eji.1830071110. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Reisner Y., Linker-Israeli M., Sharon N. Separation of mouse thymocytes into two subpopulations by the use of peanut agglutinin. Cell Immunol. 1976 Jul;25(1):129–134. doi: 10.1016/0008-8749(76)90103-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Rosenau W., Baxter J. D., Rousseau G. G., Tomkins G. M. Mechanism of resistance to steroids: glucocorticoid receptor defect in lymphoma cells. Nat New Biol. 1972 May 3;237(70):20–24. doi: 10.1038/newbio237020a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Clinical and Experimental Immunology are provided here courtesy of British Society for Immunology

RESOURCES