Skip to main content
The Journal of Experimental Medicine logoLink to The Journal of Experimental Medicine
. 1966 Feb 28;123(3):559–576. doi: 10.1084/jem.123.3.559

AUTORADIOGRAPHIC ANALYSIS OF LYMPHOPOIESIS AND LYMPHOCYTE MIGRATION IN MICE BEARING MULTIPLE THYMUS GRAFTS

M Matsuyama 1, Margaret N Wiadrowski 1, D Metcalf 1
PMCID: PMC2138154  PMID: 5937062

Abstract

Lymphopoiesis was studied in 3-month-old normal C57Bl mice and in 3-month-old C57Bl mice carrying from 12 to 48 C57Bl thymus grafts using tritiated thymidine labeling. Thymus graft lymphopoiesis was found to be identical with that of normal thymus tissue and the presence of thymus grafts was found to have no influence on host thymus lymphopoiesis. No evidence was found that the massive amounts of thymus graft tissue in the mice affected any parameter of host lymph node lymphopoiesis nor was any evidence detected for the migration of thymic lymphocytes from these massive deposits of thymus graft tissue either to host lymph nodes and blood or to other organs in the host animal. It is concluded that the majority of small lymphocytes produced in the thymus and thymus graft tissue do not migrate from these tissues but die locally at the end of their intrathymic life span of 3 to 4 days.

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (928.7 KB).

Selected References

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

  1. BURNET M. Role of the thymus and related organs in immunity. Br Med J. 1962 Sep 29;2(5308):807–811. doi: 10.1136/bmj.2.5308.807. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. CRADDOCK C. G., NAKAI G. S., FUKUTA H., VANSLAGER L. M. PROLIFERATIVE ACTIVITY OF THE LYMPHATIC TISSUES OF RATS AS STUDIED WITH TRITIUM-LABELED THYMIDINE. J Exp Med. 1964 Sep 1;120:389–412. doi: 10.1084/jem.120.3.389. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. FRIEDMAN H. ABSENCE OF ANTIBODY PLAQUE FORMING CELLS IN SPLEENS OF THYMECTOMIZED MICE IMMUNIZED WITH SHEEP ERYTHROCYTES. Proc Soc Exp Biol Med. 1965 Apr;118:1176–1180. doi: 10.3181/00379727-118-30073. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. HARRIS J. E., FORD C. E. CELLULAR TRAFFIC OF THE THYMUS: EXPERIMENTS WITH CHROMOSOME MARKERS. EVIDENCE THAT THE THYMUS PLAYS AN INSTRUCTIONAL PART. Nature. 1964 Feb 29;201:884–885. doi: 10.1038/201884a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. LEUCHARS E., CROSS A. M., DAVIES A. J., WALLIS V. J. A CELLULAR COMPONENT OF THYMIC FUNCTION. Nature. 1964 Sep 12;203:1189–1189. doi: 10.1038/2031189a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. METCALF D. Long-term effects of whole-body irradiation on lymphocyte homeostasis in the mouse. Radiat Res. 1959 Mar;10(3):313–322. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. METCALF D., SPARROW N., NAKAMURA K., ISHIDATE M. The behaviour of thymus grafts in high and low leukaemia strains of mice. Aust J Exp Biol Med Sci. 1961 Oct;39:441–453. doi: 10.1038/icb.1961.45. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. METCALF D. The effect of thymectomy on the lymphoid tissues of the mouse. Br J Haematol. 1960 Jul;6:324–333. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2141.1960.tb06248.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. METCALF D. The thymic origin of the plasma lymphocytosis stimulating factor. Br J Cancer. 1956 Sep;10(3):442–457. doi: 10.1038/bjc.1956.51. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. METCALF D., WAKONIG-VAARTAJA R. STEM CELL REPLACEMENT IN NORMAL THYMUS GRAFTS. Proc Soc Exp Biol Med. 1964 Mar;115:731–735. doi: 10.3181/00379727-115-29022. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. MURRAY R. G., WOODS P. A. STUDIES ON THE FATE OF LYMPHOCYTES. 3. THE MIGRATION AND METAMORPHOSIS OF IN SITU LABELED THYMIC LYMPHOCYTES. Anat Rec. 1964 Oct;150:113–128. doi: 10.1002/ar.1091500203. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. NOSSAL G. J. STUDIES ON THE RATE OF SEEDING OF LYMPHOCYTES FROM THE INTACT GUINEA PIG THYMUS. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1964 Nov 30;120:171–181. doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.1964.tb34715.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. OSOBA D., MILLER J. F. THE LYMPHOD TISSUES AND IMMUNE RESPONSES OF NEONATALLY THYMECTOMIZED MICE BEARING THYMUS TISSUE IN MILLIPORE DIFFUSION CHAMBERS. J Exp Med. 1964 Jan 1;119:177–194. doi: 10.1084/jem.119.1.177. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. WAKSMAN B. H., ARNASON B. G., JANKOVIC B. D. Role of the thymus in immune reactions in rats. III. Changes in the lymphoid organs of thymectomized rats. J Exp Med. 1962 Aug 1;116:187–206. doi: 10.1084/jem.116.2.187. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from The Journal of Experimental Medicine are provided here courtesy of The Rockefeller University Press

RESOURCES