On the Immunodepressive Effect of Rifampicin (RFP) on Cell-mediated Immunity of Guinea Pigs, Examined by Rabbit Red Blood Cell Rosette Formation Method

• Published in: Japanese journal of leprosy Vol. 50; no. 2; pp. 55 - 61
• Main Authors: GIDOH, MASAICHI, TSUTSUMI, SADAE
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English; Japanese
• Published: Japanese Leprosy Association 1981
• ISSN: 0386-3980; 2185-1360
• DOI: 10.5025/hansen1977.50.55

The immunodepressive effect of RFP was examined by a method of rosette formation between guinea pig lymphocyte (GPL) and rabbit red blood cells (RRBC). The oral dose of 30mg/kg of RFP once every day for 12 days brought a serious immunodepression to the guinea pigs whose CMI was recovered during the term of above 2 months after thymectomy (named recovered guinea pigs) whereas it could not be detected in the guinea pigs whose CMI was still depressed due to the insufficient term after thymectomy (named immunodepressed ones). However, the depressive effect by the dose of 10mg/kg of RFP could not be detected. On the other hand, the influence by the dose of 30mg/kg of Sulfadimethoxine (SD) could not be detected either by the use of recovered guinea pigs or by immunodepressed ones. Since the dosage of DDS (20mg/kg) examined in the preceding report(8) about its immunodepressive effect on normal and recovered guinea pigs was too high to consider the effect on patients under DDS therapy, the influence of 5mg/kg of DDS on recovered guinea pigs was examined. However, in spite of positive result by Ghei, et al.(13) who noticed the immunodepression in volunteers by lymphocyte transformation method, the influence of DDS at the dosage of 5mg/kg could not be clearly noticed by this method. Along with these results, the discussions were made reference of the usage of this method, the attention to RFP and DDS therapies and the difference between DDS and SD.