Cell-mediated immune functions, interleukin 2 and interferon production by high leukemia incidence mutant (hr/hr) mice of the HRS/J strain.
Homozygous hr/hr mice of the HRS/J strain have a high incidence of lymphoma not seen in congenic hr/+ littermates. The suggestion has been made that a helper T cell defect in the immune system of the homozygotes may account for this. To further examine the immune status of these mice, we compared the ability of spleen cells of mice of both types to stimulate, as well as to generate, allogeneic cell-mediated cytolytic responses and to produce a soluble mediator of such responses. In addition, both types of mice were tested for their ability to produce interferon (IFN) or to have their splenic natural killer cell (NK) levels augmented by polyriboinosinic-polyribocytidylic acid (poly rI-rC). We found that the spleen cells of young or aging mice of either type were able to stimulate the generation of alloreactive cytotoxic cells, but they did not inappropriately stimulate the generation of syngeneic cytotoxic cells. Similarly, spleen cells of both types of mice produced a T helper cell-derived growth factor (interleukin 2) involved in the proliferation of cytolytic cells and generated a classical cell-mediated lympholysis (CML) response to alloantigen-bearing cells. Finally, spontaneous NK cell levels, as well as poly rI-rC augmented IFN and NK cell levels, were similar in both types of mice. Thus, it appears that if defects in the immune system are solely responsible for the high incidence of lymphoma in hr/hr mice, the defects involve components or regulatory aspects of that system that have yet to be defined.
D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D006720:Homozygote; D007111:Immunity, Cellular; D007372:Interferons / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D007376:Interleukin-2 / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D007694:Killer Cells, Natural / Q000276:immunology*; D007942:Leukemia, Experimental / Q000276:immunology*; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008809:Mice, Inbred C3H; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D006377:T-Lymphocytes, Helper-Inducer / Q000276:immunology*
D007376:Interleukin-2; D007372:Interferons