Selective deficiency of thymus-derived lymphocytes in experimental pyelonephritis.

Pyelonephritis was induced in experimental animals derived of thymus-derived (T) lymphocytes by adult thymectomy and serial sublethal irradiation. In this model T lymphocytes were reduced to less than 1% of normal adjudged by the in vitro Phytohemagglutinin (PHA) responsiveness of lymphoid cells from deprived animals compared with control animals. Pathologic, bacteriologic and immunologic aspects of renal infection were studied in the T cell-deprived animals during the acute, resolving and chronic stages of pyelonephritis. The experiments have shown that the ablation of lymphocytes did not appreciably alter the course of the disease.