title: A thymic hormone protects mice from enteropathy during acute graft-versus-host disease.
abstract: We have previously reported that a nonapeptide thymic hormone, facteur thymique serique (FTS), is involved in the differentiation and activation of intestinal intraepithelial lymphocytes (i-IEL) in mice. In this study, we examined the effect of FTS treatment on enteropathy in a murine model for acute graft-vs.-host disease (GVHD) induced by injection of parental C57BL/6 splenocytes into unirradiated (C57BL/6 x DBA/2) F1 hybrids. FTS treatment significantly protected mice from developing acute GVHD as assessed by mortality rate, splenomegaly and enteropathy. The infiltration of donor-derived TCR alpha beta i-IEL bearing CD8 alpha beta was significantly inhibited in the small intestine of FTS-treated mice, and the frequencies of apoptosis of crypt cells in the intestinal mucosa were decreased in these mice during acute GVHD. These results suggest that FTS treatment contributes to protection against enteropathy of acute GVHD. Thus, FTS may provide a useful approach to control acute GVHD after blood transfusion or bone marrow transplantation.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Host Defense, Nagoya University School of Medicine, Aichi, Japan.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Inagaki-Ohara
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sakai
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Koya
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Awaya
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yoshikai
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects; D005260:Female; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D006086:Graft vs Host Disease / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology; D007410:Intestinal Diseases / Q000473:pathology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D007413:Intestinal Mucosa / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology*; D007421:Intestine, Small / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology*; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000187:drug effects; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D013163:Splenomegaly; D013935:Thymic Factor, Circulating / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D014019:Tissue Donors
chemical_list: D013935:Thymic Factor, Circulating