title: The effect of early treatment with methyl-CCNU on the lymphoid organs and the humoral immune response in chickens.
abstract: Presented are data upon the effect of a single or muliple administration of methyl-CCNU (a nitrosourea derivative an alkylating agent, and anticancer drug) to newly-hatched chicks. Lethal and sublethal doses of methyl-CCNU caused temporary damage to the lymphoid organs, of which the bursa was apparently the most sensitive. The decreased weight and the morphological changes observed in the bursa of treated chicks were accompanied by a parallel decrease in serum gamma-globulins level. The humoral immune response of animals treated with me-CCNU to sheep red blood cells and to killed Brucella abortus organisms was impaired in about 30% of the treated animals examined 8-10 weeks following 2 injections of 3 mg me-CCNU (given at the day of hatching and the next day). The thymus recovered rather rapidly from treatment. The time schedule of mortality and the early and late toxic manifestations of the drug as observed in chickens, in this study, are similar to previous reports obtained in mammals. Prolonged effects, however, were noted to some extent on body and spleen weight, and most dramatically, on testicular weight, morphology, and function.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000917:Antibody Formation / Q000187:drug effects*; D001853:Bone Marrow / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology; D002645:Chickens; D006386:Hemagglutination Tests; D006388:Hemagglutinins; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D009607:Nitrosourea Compounds / Q000494:pharmacology*; D012673:Semustine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D013154:Spleen / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D006388:Hemagglutinins; D009607:Nitrosourea Compounds; D012673:Semustine