Effects of whole-body irradiation on neonatally thymectomized mice. Incidence of benign and malignant tumors

The individual and combined effects of neonatal thymectomy and whole-body irradiation on the prevalence of benign and malignant tumors in germ-free female mice of the Charles Rivers line were studied to determine if a portion of the tumorigenic effects of irradiation can be attributed to injury of t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inThe American journal of pathology Vol. 91; no. 2; pp. 217 - 227
Main Authors Anderson, RE, Howarth, JL, Troup, GM
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States ASIP 01.05.1978
Subjects
Animals
Female
Mice
Neoplasms - etiology
Neoplasms, Multiple Primary - etiology
Radiation Dosage
Radiation, Ionizing - adverse effects
Thymectomy
Thymus Gland - physiology
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Summary:The individual and combined effects of neonatal thymectomy and whole-body irradiation on the prevalence of benign and malignant tumors in germ-free female mice of the Charles Rivers line were studied to determine if a portion of the tumorigenic effects of irradiation can be attributed to injury of the thymic-dependent component of the immune response. Neonatal thymectomy increased a) the incidence of benign and malignant tumors and b) the prevalence of multiple primary neoplasms in an individual mouse. Whole-body exposure to 700 rad at 6 weeks of age further increased th incidence of tumors, but the relative magnitude of this increase was less pronounced than in sham-operated controls. Thus, the cumulative effects of thymectomy plus irradiation are less pronounced than the sum of the individual effects. One of several possible explanations for this observation is that a portion of the carcinogenic effects of whole-body irradiation is mediated by suppression of the thymic-dependent component of the immune response.
ISSN:0002-9440
1525-2191