Effect of Sex Steroids on T Cell Differentiation and Maturation in the Thymus.

近年来，我们不仅在胸腺组织中发现了性激素(SH)、雄激素(雄激素)、雌激素(E)和孕激素(P)的受体，而且在胸腺激素(胸腺)也被免疫组织化学定位于网状上皮(RE)细胞中。这些发现清楚地表明含SH的细胞和产生胸腺激素的细胞是相同的RE细胞，提示SH可能通过产生胸腺激素的RE细胞内的受体介导胸腺的某些免疫功能，从而诱导T细胞分化。他们要么单独去卵巢(OVX)，要么OVX+雌激素治疗，要么OVX+百里香素治疗。取胸腺组织，用于下列实验：1.类固醇受体(SR)的Scatchard图分析；2.免疫组织化学染色以定位SR和胸腺蛋白；3.FAC扫描分析以分类T细胞亚型…小鼠胸腺对E(ER)和P(PR)具有高亲和力和低容量的特异性受体。ER染色切片中，染色细胞主要位于延髓，有树突状细胞突起，推测为RE细胞。组成Hassall小体的细胞也被染色为受体阳性。在邻近切片中，大量胸腺素染色的细胞仅定位于延髓，具有树突状细胞突起，与ER阳性的RE细胞相同。Hassall小体的细胞也呈胸腺素阳性。初步地，这些结果清楚地表明，含有ER的细胞和产生胸腺素的细胞是相同的RE细胞，类似于对大鼠胸腺的报道。E处理组小鼠胸腺组织重量显著降低，而百里香碱处理组小鼠胸腺组织重量显著增加。反过来，E对组织重量的减轻依赖于未成熟双阳性T细胞亚群的显著减少，而辅助/诱导T细胞仅略有增加。相反，胸腺激素对组织重量的增加依赖于辅助性/诱导性T细胞亚群的显著增加，而其他T细胞亚群没有变化。从本研究中可以清楚地看出，E通过其受体与产生胸腺菌素的RE细胞介导胸腺的免疫功能，从而引导T细胞的分化和成熟。较少

For recent years we have shown not only the presence of receptors for sex steroids (SH), androgen, estrogen (E) and progestin (P) in the thymus tissue, but also the immunohistochemical localization of these receptors in reticuloepithelial (RE) cells within the tissue in which thymic hormone (thymulin) is also exclusively localized. These findings clearly mean that both SH-containing cells and thymulin producing cells are the same RE cells, suggesting that SH may mediate some immune functions of the thymus through its receptors within the RE cells which produce thymulin to lead T cell differentiation.Female mice of C57BL/6NJcl strain were used. They were either ovariectomized (OVX) alone, OVX-estrogen-treated, or OVX-thymulin-treated. The thymus tissues were excised from each animal, and offered for the following experiments ;1. Scatchard plot analysis for steroid receptors (SR), 2. immunohistochemical staining to localize SR and thymulin, and 3. FACscan analysis to classify T cell subp … More opulation.The mouse thymus possessed specific receptors for E (ER) and P (PR) with high affinities and low capacities. In the ER-stained section, the stained cells were mainly located in the medulla, with dendritic cell processes, presumably RE cells. The cells comprising Hassall's corpuscle were also stained receptor-positive. In the adjacent section, a large number of thymulin-stained cells were localized exclusively in the medulla, with dendritic cell processes, identical with ER-positive RE cells. The cells of Hassall's corpuscle were also thymulin-positive. Tentatively, these results clearly indicate that both ER-containing cells and thymulin-producing cells are the same RE cells, similar to those reported for the rat thymus. E-treatment brought about a striking decrease in thymic tissue weight, whereas thymulin-treatment caused a fairly remarkable increase in weight. In turn, the loss of tissue weight by E depended on a significant decrease in the immature double positive T cell subsets with only a slight increase in the helper/inducer T cells. On the contrary, the gain of tissue weight by thymulin depended on a significant increase in the helper/inducer T cell subsets with no change in other T cell subpopulations.From the present study, it is clearly indicated that E mediates immune function of the thymus through its receptor with in RE cells which produce thymulin to lead differentiation and maturation of T cells. Less