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CHARACTERIZATION OF THE NUDE RAT (rnu nz ). Functional Characteristics
Author(s) -
Marshall Elaine,
Miller Thomas
Publication year - 1981
Publication title -
australian journal of experimental biology and medical science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.999
H-Index - 104
eISSN - 1440-1711
pISSN - 0004-945X
DOI - 10.1038/icb.1981.21
Subject(s) - thymectomy , concanavalin a , immune system , lymphocyte , biology , strain (injury) , cell , immunology , immunity , transplantation , stimulation , microbiology and biotechnology , in vitro , genetics , medicine , endocrinology , anatomy , myasthenia gravis
Summary Gross histopathological and morphological observations in an accompanying paper confirmed the absence of a thymus and thymus‐derived lymphocytes in the New Zealand athymic nude mutant (rnu nz ). In the present studies an analysis of the cell‐mediated immune status of the rnu nz rat is reported. Lymphocyte transformation studies showed that lymphocytes from the rnu nz strain did not respond to mitogenic stimulation with the T lymphocyte specific mitogen Concanavalin A. This confirmed the absence of potentially functional T lymphocytes suggested by the morphological analysis. Lymphocytes from the rnu nz strain also failed to initiate a graft versus host response, and the absence of host versus graft response established the immune deficit in cell‐mediated immunity in the intact animals. Additionally, the rnu nz strain has been used as a reference point to determine the effectiveness of neonatal thymectomy and adult thymectomy with irradiation as a means of depleting the host of T cells.