Knight S, Bradley J, Oppenheim J J, Ling N R
Clin Exp Immunol. 1968 May;3(4):323-41.
The response of human, rabbit and guinea-pig thymocytes in culture to blastogenic stimulants such as phytohaemagglutinin (PHA) and staphylococcal filtrate (SF) was usually considerably less than that seen with equivalent numbers of peripheral blood and lymph node lymphocytes. The growth of thymocytes was improved by growing them at higher cell concentrations but they still responded less well than other lymphocytes. A very high degree of DNA synthesis was usually observed over the first 24-hr period in cultures of unstimulated thymocytes and this was often depressed by the addition of stimulants. Thymocytes did not survive as well as peripheral blood, lymph node or splenic lymphocytes in culture. The source of the serum in the cultures at times improved the response to stimulants; normal thymocytes showing no response in the presence of one serum transformed and synthesized DNA when serum from another source (autologous, homologous or heterologous) was used. In contrast the `thymocytes' from two patients with lymphoepithelial types of thymoma and one with benign hyperplasia of the thymus (thymitis) responded much better to stimulants than the normal thymocytes and almost as well as peripheral lymphocytes.
培养的人、兔和豚鼠胸腺细胞对诸如植物血凝素（PHA）和葡萄球菌滤液（SF）等致有丝分裂刺激物的反应通常远低于等量外周血淋巴细胞和淋巴结淋巴细胞的反应。通过在较高细胞浓度下培养，胸腺细胞的生长有所改善，但它们的反应仍不如其他淋巴细胞。在未受刺激的胸腺细胞培养物中，通常在最初24小时内观察到非常高程度的DNA合成，而添加刺激物常常会抑制这种合成。在培养中，胸腺细胞的存活情况不如外周血、淋巴结或脾淋巴细胞。培养物中血清的来源有时会改善对刺激物的反应；正常胸腺细胞在一种血清存在时无反应，但当使用来自另一个来源（自体、同源或异源）的血清时会发生转化并合成DNA。相比之下，两名淋巴上皮型胸腺瘤患者和一名胸腺良性增生（胸腺炎）患者的“胸腺细胞”对刺激物的反应比正常胸腺细胞好得多，几乎与外周淋巴细胞一样好。
