title: High-frequency, but reduced absolute numbers of recent thymic migrants among peripheral blood T lymphocytes in diabetes-prone BB rats.
abstract: In rats, RT6 and CD45RC are expressed by mature peripheral T cells. The underrepresentation of T cells expressing these markers in the T lymphocytopenic BB rat might therefore be a reflection of a relatively immature T cell population. With the use of Thy-1 as a marker for recent thymic migrants, it was demonstrated that BB rats indeed have a phenotypically less mature T cell population than age-matched control rats. However, this could not account for the reduced percentages of RT6+ and CD45RC+ T cells, as these were also decreased among mature Thy-1- T cells of BB rats. Although relatively overrepresented, absolute numbers of Thy-1+ T cells were reduced in BB rats. Absolute numbers of mature Thy-1- T cells were also reduced in BB rats, but to a much larger degree than would proportionally be expected. Our findings taken together led us to conclude that both reduced thymic output and a defect in peripheral expansion are involved in the T lymphocytopenia of BB rats.
authors.affiliation: Department of Histology and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Groningen, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Groen
authors.forename: F A
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Klatter
authors.forename: N H
authors.initials: NH
authors.lastname: Brons
authors.forename: A S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Wubbena
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Nieuwenhuis
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kampinga
mesh_terms: D036002:ADP Ribose Transferases; D000818:Animals; D000945:Antigens, Differentiation, T-Lymphocyte; D002465:Cell Movement / Q000276:immunology; D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000276:immunology*; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D017493:Leukocyte Common Antigens / Q000097:blood; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins / Q000097:blood; D054562:Protein Tyrosine Phosphatase, Non-Receptor Type 1; D051381:Rats; D011913:Rats, Inbred BB; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D016176:T-Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000276:immunology*; D018800:Thy-1 Antigens / Q000097:blood; D013950:Thymus Gland / Q000166:cytology*
chemical_list: D000945:Antigens, Differentiation, T-Lymphocyte; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins; D018800:Thy-1 Antigens; D036002:ADP Ribose Transferases; C090163:Art2b protein, rat; D017493:Leukocyte Common Antigens; D054562:Protein Tyrosine Phosphatase, Non-Receptor Type 1