Abstract
AN endocrine function for the thymus has been suggested by experiments using both thymic tissue enclosed in diffusion chambers and cell-free thymus extracts to restore the immunological functions in neonatally thymectomised animals1–4. Several investigators have prepared a variety of thymic humoral factors (thymic hormones) capable of restoring different immunological functions5, but so far they have had little success in endowing congenitally athymic nude mice with T cells and T-dependent functions6, although thymus grafts work very well7. This has led to the suggestion that thymic humoral factors may work by promoting the maturation of lymphocytes which have already passed through the thymus. The study presented here, however, shows evidence that a thymus factor substitutes for the thymus.
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IKEHARA, S., HAMASHIMA, Y. & MASUDA, T. Immunological restoration of both thymectomised and athymic nude mice by a thymus factor. Nature 258, 335–337 (1975). https://doi.org/10.1038/258335a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/258335a0
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