Lymphocyte functions in the rat spleen at various times after urethan administration.
The effect of urethan on various spleen-lymphocyte functions was studied in the rat for 45 days after administration of the carcinogen. For 3 days following the last injection of urethan, the total cell number and LPS reactivity were greatly reduced. Certain reactivities, probably T-cell dependent functions, such as responsiveness to the in vitro mitogenic effect of PHA, Con A, and primary stimulation by histocompatibility alloantigens in the one-way reaction, were selectively enriched during the first 2 days. Thereafter several dissociations of these lymphocyte functions can be observed: i.e., various intervals succeed during which one function may be enriched and other(s) diminished. It seems that the kinetics of enrichment, decay and recovery of the T-cell subsets involved in the reactions investigated follow a distinctive profile for each one of them. It is suggested, as a working hypothesis, that the unbalanced situations derived from the time-course discordance of the quantitative changes in the various lymphocyte functions may allow, or even enhance, tumor development.
D000818:Animals; D000917:Antibody Formation / Q000187:drug effects; D005260:Female; D006680:HLA Antigens; D007111:Immunity, Cellular / Q000187:drug effects; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation / Q000187:drug effects; D051381:Rats; D013154:Spleen / Q000276:immunology*; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D014520:Urethane
D006680:HLA Antigens; D014520:Urethane