Neonatal thymectomy prevents spontaneous diabetes mellitus in the BB/W rat.
Complete neonatal thymectomy reduced the frequency of spontaneous diabetes mellitus in BioBreeding/Worcester rats from 27 to 3 percent. Incomplete thymectomy also significantly reduced the frequency of diabetes (to 9 percent). These findings strengthen the hypothesis that thymus-dependent, cell-mediated autoimmune destruction of pancreatic B cells is responsible for the pathogenesis of diabetes in this experimental animal.
D000818:Animals; D003921:Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D007111:Immunity, Cellular; D007515:Islets of Langerhans / Q000276:immunology; D051381:Rats; D011922:Rats, Mutant Strains / Q000502:physiology*; D013934:Thymectomy