Mannhardt W, Schulte-Wissermann H, Gardilcic S, De Leon F
Thymus. 1982 Jul;4(4):209-20.
Nude mice (BALB/c, H-2d) were transplanted under the renal capsule either with allogeneic (CBA, H-2k; C57B1/6, H-2b) or human thymus that were long-term precultured or pretreated in vitro with Carrageenan for three days. None of the thymus tissue transplants showed lymphatic repopulation 9 wk after transplantation. Histological investigation of the peripheral lymphatic tissue did not reveal any change in the thymus-dependent area. On the other hand, plasma cells and germinal centers could be found in significantly increased numbers. In addition, a normalization of the serum immunoglobulin concentrations could be found, as no specific antibodies against thymus-dependent antigens were present after immunization and T-cell function did not improve. Similar results were obtained 9 wk after injection of irradiated thymocyte suspensions or of peritoneal macrophages from immunocompetent donors. It is concluded that thymus epithelial cells could act via macrophages on the polyclonal maturation and differentiation of B cells without involvement of T cells. This would be in agreement with the experience in some patients with severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) in which reconstitution of the immunoglobulin levels is observed after transplantation of cultured thymus tissue before T-cell reconstitution can be demonstrated.
将长期在体外预培养或用角叉菜胶预处理三天的同种异体（CBA，H-2k；C57B1/6，H-2b）或人类胸腺移植到裸鼠（BALB/c，H-2d）的肾被膜下。移植9周后，没有一个胸腺组织移植显示出淋巴组织再填充。对外周淋巴组织的组织学研究未发现胸腺依赖区有任何变化。另一方面，浆细胞和生发中心的数量明显增加。此外，血清免疫球蛋白浓度恢复正常，因为免疫后不存在针对胸腺依赖抗原的特异性抗体，且T细胞功能未改善。注射来自免疫活性供体的经辐照胸腺细胞悬液或腹腔巨噬细胞9周后也得到了类似结果。结论是胸腺上皮细胞可通过巨噬细胞作用于B细胞的多克隆成熟和分化，而无需T细胞参与。这与一些严重联合免疫缺陷（SCID）患者的情况相符，在这些患者中，在证明T细胞重建之前，移植培养的胸腺组织后可观察到免疫球蛋白水平的重建。
