Fig. 8
From: T cells affect thymic involution during puberty by inducing regression of the adrenal reticularis
Adrenal cell death and infiltration of T cells in the zona reticularis after peripheral T cell activation. Six-week-old BALB/c mice received i.p. anti-CD3 antibody or PBS as a control and were killed 30 (a–d) or 60 h (e, f) later for histological observation of adrenal glands by H&E or immunohistochemical staining. a H&E-stained sections indicate apoptotic figures (arrowheads) in the zona reticularis. Inset Higher magnification of the area enclosed in the square. Sections of PBS-control (b) and antibody-treated mice (c) stained with anti-human CD3ε antibody. Note that CD3-bearing cells accumulated in ZR of antibody-treated mice. Frozen sections of antibody-treated mice were stained with anti-CD3ε (green) and anti-CD4 antibody (red) and DAPI (blue), and arrowheads indicate CD3 and CD4 double-positive cells (d). Inset Higher magnification of the area enclosed in the square. Frozen sections from PBS-control mice (e) and those from antibody-treated mice (f) stained with anti-MHC class II antibody (red) and DAPI (blue): arrowheads and arrows indicate MHC class II-positive blood leukocytes and vascular endothelia, respectively, in antibody-treated mice. Scale bars 50 μm