PROCESSING BY THE THYMUS IS NOT REQUIRED FOR CELLS THAT CURE AND POPULATE W-W-NU RECIPIENTS

  • 1 January 1979
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 54  (5) , 1152-1157
Abstract
Adult marrow, fetal liver or nu/nu mouse marrow from histocompatible donors was grafted into genetically anemic W/Wv recipients and all 3 types of grafts cured thymectomized and intact W-anemic recipients. With the latter 2 types of graft, the genetic anemia was cured by cells that could not have been processed in a mature thymus, since the adult recipients were thymectomized before receiving the grafts, the nu/nu donors were congenitally thymusless and the fetal donors were used at 16 days of gestation. Chromosome-marked marrow grafts showed that immune systems were populated to similar degrees in thymectomized and intact W/Wv recipients. Therefore, the cells derived from the donor marrow graft that partially populate the immune systems of W-anemic recipients did not require thymus processing. Small numbers of liver rudiment or yolk sac cells from fetal donors less than 12 days old failed to cure W/Wv recipients, even when mixed with adult thymus cells. The lack of adequately developed thymic helper cells appears not to be the reason why early fetal hemopoietic stem cells fail to cure W/Wv recipients.

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