Radiation effects on regeneration and T-cell-inducing function of the thymus.
Radiation effects on regeneration and T-cell-inducing function of the thymus were studied in three sets of experiments. When TXB mice were grafted with 1-week-old thymus which had been previously irradiated at various doses, an exponential decrease was observed in the morphological regeneration of the thymus grafts and in their T-cell-inducing function at doses of 600 R and over, showing about 10% that of the control at 1500 R. When in situ thymus of adult mice was locally irradiated, the radiation effect on T-cell-inducing function was less pronounced as compared with the first experiment; i.e., about 40% of the control at 1797 R. When in situ thymus of 1-day-old newborn mice was locally irradiated, regeneration potential of 1-day-old newborn thymus was highly resistant to radiation exposure and no effect on immunological functions was observed even by local irradiation of 2000 R.
D000375:Aging; D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D000921:Antibody-Producing Cells / Q000276:immunology; D003602:Cytotoxicity, Immunologic / Q000528:radiation effects; D004307:Dose-Response Relationship, Radiation; D005260:Female; D006462:Hemolytic Plaque Technique; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation / Q000528:radiation effects; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008815:Mice, Inbred Strains; D011828:Radiation Chimera; D012038:Regeneration / Q000528:radiation effects*; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology / Q000528:radiation effects; D013950:Thymus Gland / Q000473:pathology / Q000502:physiology* / Q000637:transplantation