title: Acute lethal graft-versus-host disease stimulates cellular proliferation in Peyer's Patches and follicle associated ileal epithelium of adult rats.
abstract: In this study cell proliferation in Peyer's Patches (PP) and the crypts of Lieberkuhn of the follicle-associated ileal epithelium was analyzed during the development of acute lethal graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) in adult rats. In addition, the effect of thymectomy on GVHD-induced lymphoproliferation was determined by analyzing the 3H-thymidine labeling index in neonatally thymectomized-control and thymectomized-GVHD rats. A significant increase in the 3H-thymidine-labeling index was found in interfollicular (days 2-7), dome (days 5-10), and follicular (days 5-12) regions of PP as well as in associated ileal crypts (days 5-12) of GVHD rats as compared with controls. Thymectomy altered the proliferative response in PP of GVHD rats in that incorporation of 3H-thymidine by follicular and interfollicular cells was significantly lower than in sham-thymectomized GVHD controls during the later stages of the disease. The results suggest a possible role for host thymus-dependent cells in stimulation of or participation in cell proliferation within follicular and interfollicular areas of PP.
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000818:Animals; D002455:Cell Division; D005260:Female; D006086:Graft vs Host Disease / Q000473:pathology*; D007082:Ileum / Q000473:pathology; D008221:Lymphoid Tissue / Q000473:pathology; D010581:Peyer's Patches / Q000473:pathology; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D013934:Thymectomy