Diabetic BioBreeding/Worcester (BB/Wor) rats need not be lymphopenic.
The BB/Wor rat is an animal model of spontaneous autoimmune type I diabetes mellitus. Previous reports have emphasized the presence of lymphopenia in all diabetic and diabetes-prone BB rats. This manuscript reports the appearance of diabetes among three family lines of BB/Wor animals that were previously free of diabetes. Diabetic W-line rats are not lymphopenic and possess normal percentages of phenotypic T cell subsets. Hence the presence of lymphopenia is not obligatory for the occurrence of diabetes in BB/Wor rats.
D000818:Animals; D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D007958:Leukocyte Count; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D008231:Lymphopenia / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D051381:Rats; D011913:Rats, Inbred BB / Q000276:immunology*; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains / Q000276:immunology*; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000145:classification