Thymic aging in ICR female mice is suspended by prolonged hydrocortisone exposure

Age-related decline of the thymus in ICR female mice was studied following long-term (three month) weekly exposure to hydrocortisone acetate. When examined one week after cortisone injections, the well-known thymic atrophy was observed. Five weeks after 12 hydrocortisone injections, the cortical vol...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Cell and tissue research 1997-12, Vol.290 (3), p.609-613
Main Authors: Bar-Dayan, Y, Aronson, M, Small, M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aging - immunology
Aging - pathology
Animals
Drug Administration Schedule
Female
Hydrocortisone - administration & dosage
Hydrocortisone - analogs & derivatives
Injections, Intramuscular
Lymphocyte Count
Mice
Mice, Inbred ICR
T-Lymphocyte Subsets - drug effects
T-Lymphocyte Subsets - immunology
T-Lymphocyte Subsets - pathology
Thymus Gland - drug effects
Thymus Gland - immunology
Thymus Gland - pathology
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Summary:Age-related decline of the thymus in ICR female mice was studied following long-term (three month) weekly exposure to hydrocortisone acetate. When examined one week after cortisone injections, the well-known thymic atrophy was observed. Five weeks after 12 hydrocortisone injections, the cortical volume fraction (Vc), cortical/medullary ratio (C/M), the number of thymocytes and CD4/CD8 profiles were in the range that characterizes younger mice, compared with PBS-injected mice, uninjected controls, or mice given a single hydrocortisone injection 5 weeks earlier. It seems as if thymic involution with age was suspended during the period of glucocorticoid exposure.
ISSN:0302-766X
1432-0878
DOI:10.1007/s004410050966