Abstract
Summary
Thymic epithelial cells derived from newborn mouse thymic fragments were cultured in vitro for over 22 months. Subcultures were started by transferring minute cell sheets obtained by mechanical scraping of the original culture when it was 14 months old or older. Lymphocytes, many of them with the morphological appearance of plasma cells, were seen in the subcultures. Intact lymphocytes, as well as mitotic figures were seen within cytoplasmatic vacuoles of the epithelial cells. The possible bearing of these observations on the origin of the thymic lymphocytes is briefly discussed.
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