Enzyme analysis of thymic nurse cells.

Thymic nurse cells (TNC) were characterized according to their enzyme content. The following enzymes: Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) isoenzymes, adenosine deaminase (ADA) and purine nucleoside phosphorylase (PNP) were evaluated. When the enzyme profile of the TNC were compared with the one found in the different thymocyte subpopulations, the ADA/PNP ratio was very low and similar to the early thymocytes, whereas the LDH isoenzymes approached the pattern of the cortical thymocytes. This enzyme profile suggests that the enzyme content of the TNC is dependent on the presence of at least two different thymocyte subpopulations, the early thymocytes and the cortical thymocytes.