Autoradiographic Analysis of Lymphopoiesis and Lymphocyte Migration in Mice Bearing Multiple Thymus Grafts

Lymphopoiesis was studied in 3-month-old normal C57Bl mice and in 3-month-old C57Bl mice carrying from 12 to 48 C57Bl thymus grafts using tritiated thymidine labeling. Thymus graft lymphopoiesis was found to be identical with that of normal thymus tissue and the presence of thymus grafts was found to have no influence on host thymus lymphopoiesis. No evidence was found that the massive amounts of thymus graft tissue in the mice affected any parameter of host lymph node lymphopoiesis nor was any evidence detected for the migration of thymic lymphocytes from these massive deposits of thymus graft tissue either to host lymph nodes and blood or to other organs in the host animal. It is concluded that the majority of small lymphocytes produced in the thymus and thymus graft tissue do not migrate from these tissues but die locally at the end of their intrathymic life span of 3 to 4 days.