Premium
T cell populations in the lacrimal gland during aging
Author(s) -
Gudmundsson O. G.,
Bjornsson J.,
Olafsdottir K.,
Bloch K. J.,
Allansmith M. R.,
Sullivan David A.
Publication year - 1988
Publication title -
acta ophthalmologica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.534
H-Index - 87
eISSN - 1755-3768
pISSN - 1755-375X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1755-3768.1988.tb04369.x
Subject(s) - lacrimal gland , medicine , biology , pathology
Abstract The present study examined the influence of age and gender on T cell populations in the lacrimal gland. Lacrimal (exorbital) glands were obtained from male and female rats at 19 days (pre‐puberty), 9 weeks (adult) and 14 months (mid‐life) of age and tissues were processed for T cell subset identification. In females, the density of total (W3/13 + and OX 19 + ), helper/inducer (W3/25 + ) and suppressor/cytotoxic (OX 8 + ) T cells underwent a significant increase in tissues from before, to after puberty. Following this rise, the density of all T cell populations decreased in glands from young adult to midlife females. This pattern of accumulation contrasted with the T cell profile presented by glands from males: T cell densities appeared unaffected from 19 days to 9 weeks of age, and then either declined (OX 19 + , W3/25) or remained unchanged (W3/13 + , OX 8 + ) in tissues of 14 month rats. An influence of gender on the distribution of T cells was also apparent if results were corrected for age‐associated variations in lacrimal gland weight. Thus, the absolute number of all T cell populations rose dramatically in glands of both sexes from pre‐ to post‐puberty. However, from 9 weeks to 14 months of age, the total content of W3/13 + , OX 19 + , W3/25 + and OX 8 + lymphocytes decreased 2‐fold in glands of females, but did not vary in tissues of males. Of interest, the number of W3/25 + and OX 8 + cells was analagous in all age groups examined. Moreover, the combined total of W3/25 + and OX 8 + cells was greater than that of W3/13 + or OX 19 + cells at every age. Overall, these results demonstrate that age has a significant impact on the lymphocytic density in the lacrimal gland. In addition, our findings show that gender may influence the lymphocyte profile in lacrimal tissue.