QUANTITATIVE STUDIES ON THE DECAY OF LYMPHOID CELLS DURING THE DEVELOPMENT OF CASEIN‐INDUCED MURINE AMYLOIDOSIS

Experiments were performed in order to study the decay of lymphoid cells in various lymphoid organs during the development of casein-induced amyloidosis in mice. Furthermore the decay was studied after acceleration of the amyloid formation by nitrogen mustard. The decay was calculated on the basis of the nigrosin-dye exclusion test on lymphoid single-cell suspensions. A significant increase of decay was observed early in the induction phase, in the spleen and in the thymus. The decay in the axillary lymph node (regionally to the site of casein injections) and the mesenteric lymph node was unaffected by the treatment. During acceleration of the amyloid formation the decay of lymphoid cells was increased in all organs examined. The results indicate a relationship between the decay of pyroninophilic cells and the formation of amyloid.