In vivo effects of rabbit anti-mouse brain serum on theta bearing lymphocytes of AKR mice.

The in vivo effect of rabbit anti-AKR mouse brain-associated serum (RAMB) was determined on theta bearing lymphocytes present in the spleens and thymuses of mature C3H mice and AKR mice staged into preleukemic, leukaemic and overtly leukaemic states. Following seven daily injections of RAMB serum, the splenic plaque-forming cell (PFC) response to sheep erythrocytes (SRBC) and the percentage of theta-bearing lymphocytes in the spleen were significantly decreased in the C3H and the preleukaemic AKR mice. Decreases in thymic weight and thymocyte numbers were also apparent. Determinations of theta antigen density using in vitro cytoxicity tests indicated that splenic and thymic T lymphocytes (thymus-derived) remaining in the RAMB-treated C3H and preleukemic AKR mice consisted primarily of cells bearing less of the theta surface antigen. Histopathological studies of tissues from these two treated groups revealed cortical lymphocyte depletion in the thymus, and marginal and periarteriolar depletion in the spleen. Leukaemic AKR mice, administered seven injections of RAMB serum, demonstrated less dramatic changes in thymus weight, histopathology and theta-bearing cell percentages when compared with the data from the preleukaemic AKR or matureC3H mice. The results from testing overtly luekaemic AKR mice administered RAMB serum for the 7 or 9 days did not demonstrate differences from findings from groupsof overtly leukaemic control mice. These data indicate that the in vivo activity of RAMB serum in C3H mice and preleukaemic AKR mice is directed primarily toward the less mature T-lymphocyte population. This influence of RAMB serum is lesspronounced in leukaemic and the more overtly leukaemic mice, suggesting that a decreasedpopulation of RAMB-susceptible lymphocytes are present in these animals.