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Cell size distribution in the thymus as a function of age
Author(s) -
Salinas F. A.,
Smith L. H.,
Goodman J. W.
Publication year - 1972
Publication title -
journal of cellular physiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.529
H-Index - 174
eISSN - 1097-4652
pISSN - 0021-9541
DOI - 10.1002/jcp.1040800304
Subject(s) - thymocyte , biology , population , immune system , endocrinology , medicine , life span , ageing , body weight , andrology , t cell , immunology , genetics , evolutionary biology , environmental health
Although it is well known that thymus function changes with age, it is not known whether these changes are associated with specific thymocyte populations. Since one criterion of specificity is cell size, we studied the size distribution of thymocytes from mice 0.5 days to 30.5 months of age. Body weight, thymus weight, and thymocyte yield were also measured. The mean cell volume of thymocytes from 8.5 to 13 week old mice was 326 μ 3 , with two detectable subpopulations. Mean thymocyte size was found to change with age. During the first postnatal week, the mean cell volume of the whole thymocyte population increased from 200 to 350 μ 3 , and the percentage of large cells increased greatly and constituted 90% of the whole population at four days of age. A rather slow decline in mean cell volume with some fluctuation occurred throughout the remaining life span, and at 30.5 months the mean had dropped to about 190 μ 3 . We suggest on the basis of these data that large thymocytes are involved in the contribution of the thymus to early postnatal development of the immune system and that the age‐related functional capacity of the thymus is related to the size of the thymocyte population.