Autoradiographic studies on glucose utilization in individual zones of the rat thymus.

Wistar rats were injected intraperitoneally with 2-(14C)deoxyglucose and their thymuses were processed for thaw-mount autoradiography after 5, 10 or 35 min. Highest levels of radioactivity were demonstrated in the thymic medulla (5-fold higher than in the cortex). Scanning of autoradiograms for regional differences in grain densities indicated particularly intense glucose utilization in the cortico-medullary zone. Differences in glucose utilization between individual thymic zones seem to reflect differences in cellular composition, i.e., ratio of stroma cells to thymocytes.