title: T lymphocytes affect the development of sympathetic innervation of mouse spleen.
abstract: We investigated whether the development of sympathetic innervation of the spleen is affected by lymphoid cells. Splenic noradrenaline (NA) levels of athymic nude mice (nu/nu) and normal thymus-bearing littermates (nu/+) were determined at different times during ontogeny. While no differences were detected at birth, higher splenic NA levels were found in 7-, 11-, and 21-day-old athymic mice. Thymus transplantation or thymocyte injection to newborn nude mice resulted in splenic NA levels comparable to those of normal nu/+ mice. Histochemical studies fully confirmed such differences. Taken together with previous studies, these results suggest that T lymphocytes or their products exert an inhibitory influence on sympathetic nerve fibers, thus leading to decreased NA content in the spleen. The data also illustrate the capacity of a nonneuronal cell in a peripheral organ to affect the process of autonomic innervation of this organ.
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging; D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn / Q000254:growth & development / Q000276:immunology; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008819:Mice, Nude; D009412:Nerve Fibers / Q000276:immunology / Q000502:physiology; D009638:Norepinephrine / Q000032:analysis; D013154:Spleen / Q000254:growth & development / Q000276:immunology / Q000294:innervation*; D013564:Sympathetic Nervous System / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000276:immunology; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology* / Q000502:physiology / Q000637:transplantation; D013950:Thymus Gland / Q000637:transplantation
chemical_list: D009638:Norepinephrine