The late effects of selected immunosuppressants on immunocompetence, disease incidence, and mean life-span I. Humoral immune activity

• Published in: Mechanisms of ageing and development Vol. 4; no. 3-4; pp. 231 - 239
• Main Authors: Perkins, E.H., Peterson, W.J., Gottlieb, C.F., Halsall, M.K., Caheiro, L.H., Makinodan, T.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Ireland Elsevier Ireland Ltd 1975
• Subjects: Age Factors; Animals; Antibody Formation - drug effects; Antibody Formation - radiation effects; B-Lymphocytes - immunology; Cortisone - pharmacology; Cyclophosphamide - pharmacology; Female; Hemolysin Proteins - analysis; Immunity, Cellular - drug effects; Immunity, Cellular - radiation effects; Immunosuppression; Longevity - drug effects; Longevity - radiation effects; Male; Mice; Mice, Inbred Strains; Radiation Injuries, Experimental - immunology; Splenectomy; T-Lymphocytes - immunology; Thymectomy
• ISSN: 0047-6374; 1872-6216
• DOI: 10.1016/0047-6374(75)90025-1

The effect of different immunosuppressive treatments during young adulthood on humoral immune competence late in life was determined. It was found that the marked reduction in humoral immune competence in aged mice is further compromised when severe insults are administered early in life. Thus, thymectomy, splenectomy, and sublethal X-irradiation produced lasting immunodepression as measured (1) in situ and (2) by the hemolysin, direct and indirect plaque forming cell responses of adoptively transferred spleen cells. In contrast, treatment with cyclophosphamide and cortisone acetate were without effect, indicating thet drug-damaged cells of the immune system were replaced by competent cells during the course of time. Decrease in immune competence of aged thymectomized animals could not be correlated with a decrease in numbers of theta-bearing T or immunoglobulin receptor-bearing B lymphocytes. The significance of the observed unequal effects of these immunosuppressants on immune competence, as they relate to disease incidence and life expectancy, are dealt with in the third paper in this series.