title: Pregnancy and lactation induced suppression of cell mediated immunity.
abstract: The effect of pregnancy and lactation on effector or killer cell responses of syngeneically bred BALB/c (H-2d) female mice to the EL4 (H-2b) tumor and C57BL/6 (H-2b) female mice to the P815 (H-2d) tumor was evaluated with cell mediated cytolysis (CMC). Virgin age correlated females served as controls. Maternal spleen cell responses to the tumor were depressed at 10-15 days of pregnancy and during lactation at 1-5 days and 10-20 days postpartum. One to five days after weaning the maternal response began to increase again. In this study the greatest suppression of the response occurred at 1-5 days postpartum. The route of tumor sensitization, i.e. intraperitoneal or subcutaneous, did not make a difference in the depression of the maternal response. Serologic evaluation of splenic cell populations with anti-Thy 1.2 serum did not indicate differences which could account for the suppressed maternal CMC response.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000954:Antigens, Surface / Q000276:immunology; D003602:Cytotoxicity, Immunologic; D005260:Female; D007108:Immune Tolerance; D007111:Immunity, Cellular; D007774:Lactation; D008223:Lymphoma / Q000276:immunology; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D009929:Organ Size; D011247:Pregnancy; D013154:Spleen / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000166:cytology; D018800:Thy-1 Antigens
chemical_list: D000954:Antigens, Surface; D018800:Thy-1 Antigens