ABSTRACT
One of the few possibilities to establish unequivocally the basic defect of the nu mutation is the analysis of the mesenchymal activity as reflected by the bone marrow stem cell potential. Of course, a reduced stem cell potential in the adult nude mouse may also be caused by a lack of thymic factors. Although the basic defects of the mouse mutant nude suggest some consequences in the cellular and extracellular components of connective tissues, the model remains almost unnoticed beyond the immunological boundaries. The mast cell reflects the intensity of glycosoaminoglycan metabolism and connective tissue neoformation. With the exception of mucosal mast cells, the mast cell system seems to be one of the sufficient and adequate mesenchymal cell systems in the athymic nude mouse which served in the last decade as an unequivocal disproof of the story on the thymic origin of mast cells.
