Suppression of Antibody Forming Capacity with Thymectomy in the Mouse.

Abstract

Thymectomy performed within 24 hours after birth in the DBA/2 strain of mice almost completely abolishes the ability of these animals to respond to antigenic stimulation with T2 bacteriophage. These and other recent studies indicate that the information necessary for development of capacity for immunologic recognition of foreign antigens is contained within the thymus of the mouse during the fetal-neonatal period.