The corneas of naive mice contain both CD4+ and CD8+ T cells.

PURPOSE: To determine if the corneas of naive mice contain resident CD4+ and CD8+ T cells. METHODS: The presence of T cells in the corneas of naive BALB/c, C57BL/6, and SCID mice was determined by immunostaining with anti-CD4 (clone RM4-5) and anti-CD8 (clone 5H10-1) monoclonal antibodies. Immunostained corneal sections were examined by light microscopy, and immunostained intact corneas were examined by confocal microscopy. The levels of CD4 and CD8 mRNA transcripts in the corneas were determined by TaqMan reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis and compared with the expression of these transcripts in the corneas of HSV-1 infected mice. Finally, the number of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells in the cornea of BALB/c, C57BL/6, and ICR mice was determined by cell sorting. RESULTS: Both light microscopic examination of corneal sections and confocal microscopic examination of intact corneas revealed the presence of CD4+ and CD8+ cells in the central and peripheral regions of the corneas of BALB/c and C57BL/6 mice. Stained cells were not detected in corneas of control SCID mice. CD4 and CD8 mRNA transcripts were detected in corneas of BALB/c and C57BL/6 mice while there were markedly lower levels of transcripts in SCID mice. The number of CD4 transcripts was lower than the number of CD8 transcripts in the corneas of both BALB/c and C57BL/6 mice. Finally, cell sorting showed the presence of both CD4+ and CD8+ T cells in corneas of BALB/c, C57BL/6, and ICR mice. CONCLUSIONS: CD4+ and CD8+ T cells are present in corneas of naive C57BL/6, BALB/c, and ICR mice.

The SCID mouse: an experimental model for endometriosis.

The purpose of this study was to validate the suitability of the severe combined immunodeficient (SCID) mouse as an experimental model for endometriosis, by defining the morphological and histological features of induced endometrial implants, and characterizing specific biochemical properties of these implants. Human secretory endometrial tissues were injected into the peritoneal cavity of SCID/SCID CB17 mature female mice. Successful peritoneal implantation was observed in 55 of 57 (96.5%) SCID mice and consisted of circumscribed elevated nodules. Haematoxylin-eosin staining of implanting lesions demonstrated the presence of endometrial glandular tissue in a mixed background of stromal and inflammatory cells. When progesterone was administered to mice, epithelial glands underwent well-defined secretory changes. Immunohistochemical analysis using polyclonal human pan-cytokeratin antibodies demonstrated selective positive staining in the glandular epithelium of the human implants with none in the surrounding stroma. In-situ hybridization analysis using complement component 3 cDNA radiolabelled riboprobes yielded significantly more intense signals in glands compared to stroma. As human endometrial implants in SCID mice were shown to retain specific histological, functional and biochemical properties, we conclude that the SCID mouse is an attractive animal model for the study of endometriosis.

Induction of human gamma delta T cells in myasthenia gravis thymus transplanted SCID mice.

BACKGROUND: TCR-gamma delta cells develop by extrathymic differentiation and might play an important role in thymectomy-resistant myasthenia gravis (MG) patients. In this study, we show development of human TCR-gamma delta cells in periphery of SCID mice by transplantation of human MG thymus or thymoma. METHODS: Three pieces of thymoma tissue and four of non-thymoma thymic tissues were obtained from MG patients by thymectomy. Each tissue was transplanted into 5-6 weeks old female SCID mice by intraperitoneal injection or surgical implantation. Rate of human TCR-positive cell development and its subtypes (TCR-alpha beta, TCR-gamma delta) were measured in the mice blood at one, three, and six weeks after the transplantation. RESULTS: Human TCR-positive cells were detected three weeks after transplantation. Rate of TCR-gamma delta T cell development got higher in thymoma transplanted group than in non-thymoma transplanted group. CONCLUSIONS: We could successfully develop human mature T cells in SCID mice by transplantation of human MG thymus or thymoma.

Innervation of the thymus in normal and bone marrow reconstituted severe combined immunodeficient (SCID) mice.

The innervation of the thymus was studied in SCID mice: There was a relatively more dense innervation pattern in SCID mice as compared to normal BALB/c mice (from which SCID mice are derived), including nerve fibres immunoreactive for protein gene product 9.5 (PGP 9.5), tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), neuropeptide tyrosine (NPY) and vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP), although there was no reactivity to substance P (SP) or leucine enkephalin (ENK). Only a few acetylcholinesterase (AChE)-positive nerve fibres were observed in the SCID thymus. Ten weeks after the transfer of bone marrow from normal BALB/c mice into SCID mice no immunoreactivity to the above markers was found, nor was there any AChE reaction, although histologically the thymus appeared normal and dot-blot assays demonstrated the presence of immunoglobulin indicating a return to normal bone marrow function in SCID mice. Both innervation and morphology were restored 6 months after bone marrow transfer. In conclusion, the thymus of SCID mice lacking thymocytes has visible neurotransmitter levels in the nerves, but after thymocyte repopulation by bone marrow transplantation the transmitters are generally not demonstrable. This indicates that the innervation may be more important for the establishment of the microenvironment rather than the maintenance of thymocyte differentiation.

Murine granulated metrial gland cell population in beige (bg/bg) and SCID (scid/scid) genotypes.

Morphology of granulated metrial gland (GMG) cell, a uterine natural killer (NK) cell, was reported to be normal in pregnant uteri of NK cell-deficient mice and T-cell- and B-cell-deficient mice, but little is known about the number of GMG cells. To determine whether the number of GMG cells is influenced by such mutations, their number in the bg mice (genotype C57BL/6J-bg/bg) and SCID mice (genotype C.B-17/Icr-scid/scid) was compared to that of control mice on day 12 of gestation. GMG cells in these mutant mice were normal in number. Thus, the present results support the previous reports that GMG cells can differentiate normally in bg mice and that the GMG cell differentiation is not affected by functional T- nor B-cells.