The influence of neonatal thymectomy on the blood serum level of total lipids, NEFA, triglycerides, total cholesterol and beta-lipoproteins in rats.
The time course of changes in the blood serum content of total lipids (TL), nonesterified fatty acids (NEFA), triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol (TC) and beta-lipoproteins (beta-LP), caused by neonatal thymectomy (NTE), was investigated in neonatally thymectomized and in sham-operated rats aged 15, 30, 45 days, 2, 3 and 5 months. TL were significantly increased on days 15, 30, 45 and 60 after operation; their level in 3- and 5-month-old rats was already normal. In control rats, NEFA level increased with age; their level in NTE rats was significantly higher on days 15, 30, 45 and 60 after thymectomy. Similar changes were registered in TG level. The effect of NTE was most pronounced in TC whose level was significantly higher in thymectomized rats than in control rats till the 150th day after operation. Serum concentration of beta-LP in NTE rats exceeded several times that of sham-operated rats in all age groups. The role of the thymus in the control of lipid metabolism in rats is discussed.