Triggering of leukemia in thymectomized AKR mice by a membrane fraction of thymic stroma.
Spontaneous viral leukemia, occurring in AKR mice starting at 6 mth, is thymus-dependent, and can thus be abrogated by thymectomy. Two components of the thymic stroma, insoluble thymic fraction (ITF) and soluble thymic factor (STF) previously shown to induce sequential steps in T-cell differentiation, were investigated for their role in the triggering of leukemia. AKR mice, thymectomized at 1 mth received weekly injections of either ITF, STF, ITF + STF or control splenic fractions, and deaths by leukemia were recorded. Mice having received ITF all died at approximately the same rate as the sham-thymectomized untreated controls, while only 20% of the ITF + STF treated mice died. Untreated, STF- or splenic fractions-treated controls all survived. These results are interpreted as indicating that ITF induces a T-cell population sensitive both to leukemic transformation and to STF-mediated differentiation.
D000406:AKR murine leukemia virus; D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D005591:Chemical Fractionation; D005260:Female; D007942:Leukemia, Experimental / Q000209:etiology* / Q000276:immunology / Q000401:mortality; D008566:Membranes / Q000032:analysis; D051379:Mice; D008806:Mice, Inbred AKR / Q000276:immunology*; D012995:Solubility; D013154:Spleen / Q000032:analysis; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology; D013934:Thymectomy; D013951:Thymus Hormones / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000302:isolation & purification
D013951:Thymus Hormones