Behaviourally conditioned modification of T cell subset ratios in rats.
Levamisole injection resulted in an elevation in the T helper:T suppressor (H:S) subset ratio in rats at 24 h after injection due to a selective depression in the cytotoxic/suppressor subset. This response was shown to be conditionable and could be reenlisted 14 days later by re-exposure to the conditioned stimulus. Rats were conditioned using a taste aversion paradigm by pairing levamisole injection with the novel taste of saccharin. Fourteen days later, after a second exposure to saccharin without levamisole injection, H:S ratios were elevated in the blood of these rats compared to control rats injected with levamisole but fed normal water or rats fed saccharin without levamisole injection.
D000276:Adjuvants, Immunologic / Q000008:administration & dosage; D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology*; D007279:Injections, Subcutaneous; D007978:Levamisole / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000276:immunology; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D012439:Saccharin / Q000008:administration & dosage; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000145:classification* / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology; D013602:T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic / Q000276:immunology; D006377:T-Lymphocytes, Helper-Inducer / Q000166:cytology; D050378:T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory / Q000166:cytology; D013649:Taste / Q000502:physiology
D000276:Adjuvants, Immunologic; D007978:Levamisole; D012439:Saccharin