Open AccessKinetics of T cell turnover following thymectomy
Author(s) -
Norwich K. H.,
Ramanathan S.,
Poussier P.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
cell proliferation
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.647
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1365-2184
pISSN - 0960-7722
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-2184.1999.3240195.x
Subject(s) - bromodeoxyuridine , cell division , cell cycle , cell , population , intraperitoneal injection , kinetics , dna , biology , dna synthesis , thymectomy , peripheral blood , peripheral , microbiology and biotechnology , endocrinology , immunology , medicine , chemistry , biochemistry , cell growth , physics , myasthenia gravis , environmental health , quantum mechanics
. We develop a mathematical formula that provides the number of cells in an isolated population that have divided k times in n days (0 ≤ k ≤ n ). This differential cell division formula is applied to the kinetics of peripheral T cells in the diabetes‐prone BB rat following thymectomy. These rats received daily intraperitoneal injections of the DNA precursor, bromodeoxyuridine (BrdUrd), over a period of 12–13 days. As the cells divided, they incorporated BrdUrd progressively into their DNA molecules, and the differential formula provides a close prediction of the fraction of BrdUrd‐positive T cells present each day during this ‘pulse’ phase. No further BrdUrd was administered after 13 days, and the diminishing fraction of BrdUrd‐positive cells was recorded for several more weeks. The differential cell division formula was capable of describing the rather complex form of the retention curve as BrdUrd‐tagged DNA molecules passed to progeny cells during this ‘chase’ phase. We believe that this simple formula may be found generally useful in describing cell kinetic data in mitotically active cells.