抄録
IQI/Jic mice showed a high incidence of subcapsular spindle cell hyperplasia (SCH) in the adrenal cortex accompanied by prominent mast cell infiltration. SCH-positive animals appeared as early as at 3 months of age, with an incidence of 18% in males and 20% in females. Except for one mouse, all females older than 6 months had the lesion. In males, the incidence increased gradually until 9 months, and was then stable at 75-88% thereafter. The severity of SCH increased with age in both sexes, and the lesions were more prominent in females. Mast cells infiltrated mainly at the sites of spindle cell hyperplasia, and their density was associated with the severity of the lesion. A quantitative morphometric study confirmed a significant correlation between the severity of SCH and the density of mast cells. A histochemical study demonstrated that these mast cells were of the connective tissue-type. These observations indicate that IQI/Jic mice may be a useful strain to elucidate the pathogenesis of SCH in the adrenal cortex in association with mast cell function.
