Antibody suppression by zinc and nickel.

Rats were treated with zinc chloride and with nickel acetate 2 weeks prior to immunization withE. coli bacteriophageT-1; antibody titers to bacteriophageT-1 were reduced 500-2600-fold in metal-treated rats compared to titers found in untreated control animals. Examination of the effect of metal treatment on lymphocyte blastogenesis revealed a significant reduction in the number of blast cells in the spleens of metal-treated rats.

Effect of bacille Calmette-Guérin on the immune response of BALB/c mice to a tumor allograft.

The effect of dosage and route of inoculation of bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) on immune response to allogeneic tumor cells was investigated. BALB/c mice were tested 14 and 21 days after injection of EL-4 lymphoma for spleen-cell cytotoxicity against EL-4 cells in vitro and for complement-dependent, antibody-mediated lysis of tumor cells. BCG treatment had no measurable effect on the antibody-mediated lysis of tumor cells, but spleen-cell cytotoxicity was significantly increased in mice treated with 10(4) or 10(8) BCG by the intraperitoneal route; no such increase occurred when BCG was given by the oral or subcutaneous routes. The cytotoxic effector cells were primarily thymus-derived, since treatment of spleens with rabbit antiserum to mouse brain serum decreased cytotoxicity titers by approximately 90%. Within the framework of these experiments, the intraperitoneal route of BCG inoculation resulted in a more effective immune stimulation than the oral or subcutaneous routes.

A survey of the effect of metals on the immune response.

CONCLUSIONS: Evidence has been presented that the effect of metals on the immune response is highly variable: either enhancement or suppression may occur, depending on metal dose, route of inoculation, nature of antigenic stimulus, time of metal administration in relation to antigen, or the specific class of immunoglobulins produced. Very little is known of the mechanisms of metal-induced suppression or enhancement; mitogenicity of some metals may be involved in their stimulatory effects on immunity.An evaluation of available data shown no significant difference in the effect of carcinogenic and noncarcinogenic metals on immunity; the general effect of carcinogenic metals appears to be that of immunosuppression, but enhancement of immunity may also occur.Additional studies are needed to define immunological effects of carcinogenic and noncarcinogenic metals. Few experiments have analyzed the effects of these metals on cellular aspects of immunity, and, especially on those immunological reactions that play a role in tumor suppression or enhancement.

Variable response of normal and transformed mouse cells to interferon inducers.

Balb/3T3 mouse cells, normal and SV40-transformed, produced interferon when induced with Newcastle disease and influenza viruses; transformed cells failed to respond to double-stranded RNA inducers.

Inhibitory effect of nickel and chromium upon antibody response of rats to immunization with T-1 phage.

Nickel and chromium significantly depressed the circulating antibody response of rats immunized with a viral antigen (T-1 phage). Consistent suppression of antibody was observed in all metal-treated animals; the greatest decrease in antibody titers was noted in animals receiving metals two weeks prior to the initial antigen dose.

Selective decrease in interferon production in immunotolerant mice.

Mice, immunologically unresponsive to Newcastle disease virus, were impaired in their capacity to produce interferon when induced with Newcastle disease virus, but not when induced with an unrelated virus.