Hattori M, Brandon M R
J Endocrinol. 1979 Oct;83(1):101-11. doi: 10.1677/joe.0.0830101.
By 10 days after neonatal thymectomy, the areas of lymphocytic depletion were being repopulated by plasma or reticular cells. Subsequently, ovarian dysgenesis was observed in 50-day-old thymectomized female rats as hyperplasia of ovarian interstitial cells an an enhanced degeneration of follicles. Thymectomized rats at 130 and 170 days of age showed complete ovarian dysgenesis, testicular atrophy, hypertrophy of pituitary beta-cells with pronounced cytoplasmic haloes, and lymphocytic infiltration in the pituitary, thyroid and prostate glands. These results suggest that neonatal thymectomy may initially influence the lymphoid organs (i.e. the immune system) and that changes in the immune system may result in the autoimmune-like damage in the endocrine organs and the prostate gland. Associated with these changes, the concentrations of plasma progesterone and 17 alpha-hydroxyprogesterone were significantly reduced in 130-day-old thymectomized female rats with respect to the sham-thymectomized controls. The concentration of plasma oestradiol-17 beta in thymectomized female rats was the same as in sham-thymectomized female rats. These results suggest that gestagens may normally suppress immune responses but that, in the case of thymectomized female rats, the reduced levels of gestagens may lead to enhanced immune responses.
新生期胸腺切除术后10天，淋巴细胞耗竭区域开始由浆细胞或网状细胞重新填充。随后，在50日龄胸腺切除的雌性大鼠中观察到卵巢发育不全，表现为卵巢间质细胞增生和卵泡退化加剧。130日龄和170日龄胸腺切除的大鼠出现完全性卵巢发育不全、睾丸萎缩、垂体β细胞肥大并伴有明显的细胞质晕，以及垂体、甲状腺和前列腺的淋巴细胞浸润。这些结果表明，新生期胸腺切除可能最初影响淋巴器官（即免疫系统），免疫系统的变化可能导致内分泌器官和前列腺出现自身免疫样损伤。与这些变化相关的是，130日龄胸腺切除的雌性大鼠血浆孕酮和17α-羟孕酮的浓度相对于假胸腺切除的对照组显著降低。胸腺切除的雌性大鼠血浆雌二醇-17β的浓度与假胸腺切除的雌性大鼠相同。这些结果表明，孕激素通常可能抑制免疫反应，但在胸腺切除的雌性大鼠中，孕激素水平降低可能导致免疫反应增强。
