Sympathetic nervous system modulation of the immune system. II. Induction of lymphocyte proliferation and migration in vivo by chemical sympathectomy.

We have used chemical sympathectomy with 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) in adult mice to study the role of the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) in regulating cellular proliferation and migration in lymphoid organs. Following sympathectomy, an increase in inguinal and axillary lymph node (LN) weight and cellularity was observed. This increase paralleled increased cellular proliferation in vivo, as measured by uptake of [125I]deoxyuridine (125IUdR). Transient increases in cellular proliferation also were observed in spleen and bone marrow following sympathectomy. Administration of desipramine prior to 6-OHDA to prevent sympathectomy resulted in control levels of proliferation. beta-Adrenoceptor blockade just prior to or following 6-OHDA treatment did not alter the enhanced proliferation. Migration of normal 51Cr-labelled lymphocytes into inguinal and axillary LN was enhanced in sympathectomized recipients. Conversely, cells from sympathectomized animals showed diminished migration to these LN upon transfer into intact recipients. These results demonstrate that depletion of NA innervation alters cellular proliferation and lymphocyte migration in primary and secondary lymphoid organs.