Thymic regulation of brain cortex beta-adrenoceptors during development and aging.
The influence of the thymus on beta-adrenoceptors has been studied in the brain cortex of mice during developing and aging. Affinity of beta-adrenoceptors shows no statistically significant changes in the various animal models investigated. Receptor density shows a fall in both athymic nude mice and in old normal mice. Receptor density, in particular, decreases progressively with advancing age. It has been demonstrated that thymus exerts a regulatory role in both development and aging, as a neonatal thymic graft is capable of reversing the receptor impairments found in young athymic nude mice and in old normal mice.
D000375:Aging; D000818:Animals; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D004082:Dihydroalprenolol / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008819:Mice, Nude; D011943:Receptors, Adrenergic, beta / Q000502:physiology*; D013950:Thymus Gland / Q000502:physiology*
D011943:Receptors, Adrenergic, beta; D004082:Dihydroalprenolol