Congenitally determined neurodegeneration "Lurcher" induces morphofunctional changes of thymus.

A significantly higher frequency of apoptosis was documented by flow cytometry and by ELISA analysis, and significantly higher numbers of necrotic cells were demonstrated by ELISA within the thymus of Lurcher mice in comparison with the control C3H mice. These can be regarded as important markers of degenerative changes in this primary immune organ. This tendency is supported by histological observation of the absence of a clear interface between thymic cortex and medulla and an insignificantly increased number of Hassall's corpuscles resembling an onset of thymic atrophy.

NK cytotoxic activity and relative distribution of NK cells in 3-acetylpyridine influenced mice.

NK-cell cytotoxic activity and their relative distributions were studied in the spleen of female Lurcher mice with spontaneous olivopontocerebellar degeneration (C3H) and female athymic nu/nu mice (BALB/c) influenced by 3-acetylpyridine (the neurotoxin causing selective degeneration of cerebellar and inferior olive neurons in some rodent species). The congenital olivopontocerebellar degeneration in Lurcher mice is followed by only an insignificant increase of NK-cell cytotoxic activity (1.2 times).