KINETICS OF RECOVERY OF SERUM IG LEVELS AND OF CYTOPLASMIC IG POSITIVE CELLS IN VARIOUS LYMPHOID ORGANS OF NUDE-MICE AFTER THYMUS TRANSPLANTATION

  • 1 January 1980
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 41  (2) , 279-287
Abstract
The long-term effects of thymus transplantation in nude mice were studied with regard to the number of cytoplasmic Ig-positive plasmablasts and plasma cells (C-Ig cells) in various lymphoid organs and their Ig class distribution profile. These data were correlated with the serum Ig levels of the same mice. Four weeks after thymus transplantation, the number of C-Ig cells in the spleen of nude mice had increased 2- to 3-fold over that found in normal nude mice and normal heterozygous littermates of the same age. This overshoot subsided at 8 wk after thymus transplantation. The increase of the C-Ig cell number in the other lymphoid organs tested (bone marrow, mesenteric lymph nodes and Peyer''s patches) started later than in spleen and did not show a clear overshoot. Almost complete recovery of the C-Ig cell pattern to that of normal littermates was found 32 wk post-transplantation. Analysis of the Ig class distribution of the C-Ig cells showed that the increase in the C-Ig cell numbers after thymus transplantation in nude mice was almost exclusively confined to IgG1, IgG2 and IgA. The increase of C-IgG1 and C-IgG2 cells in spleen and bone marrow correlated with a simultaneous increase of the serum IgG1 and IgG2 levels, suggesting that these organs are the major source of serum IgG in young adult mice.