Figure 2.
Changes in T cell pool size are the direct result of changed thymic export rates. Six-week-old mice were grafted with six thymic lobes, and CD4, CD8, and overall T cell pool sizes were compared with those of nongrafted controls after a further 8 or 16 weeks. Although a significant difference was seen between grafted and nongrafted mice (P < .0001, unpaired Student’s t test), no difference was observed between mice grafted for 8 or 16 weeks. A minimum of six mice were used per group, with error bars representing 1 SD from the mean.