Evaluation of the immunosuppression in an experimental model of autoimmunity: suppressor activity of spleen cells from cyclophosphamide-treated rats.
Rats immunized with chemically modified rat male accessory glands (MRAG) and injected 3 days later with cyclophosphamide (CY) were unable to develop humoral and cellular immune response to the autoantigen of MRAG. The present report demonstrates that the spleen mononuclear (SpM) cells transference from rats injected with CY 3 days after the antigen to normal male or female syngeneic animals before immunization with MRAG did not suppress the immune response to this antigen, whereas the transference of SpM cells from suppressed animals to animals previously immunized, depressed the delayed type hypersensitivity (DTH) response against MRAG (suppression of the expression) only in male rats. Similar results were obtained by transference of purified T cells. SpM cells did not suppress an established humoral immune response induced in male or female rats. The results suggest that non-adherent cells present in the spleen of male suppressed rats might be one of the responsible mechanisms for suppression of the efferent phase of the cellular autoimmune response to MRAG.
D000818:Animals; D001323:Autoantibodies / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D003520:Cyclophosphamide / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005260:Female; D006968:Hypersensitivity, Delayed; D007108:Immune Tolerance / Q000187:drug effects; D007116:Immunization, Passive; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D013154:Spleen / Q000276:immunology; D050378:T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory / Q000276:immunology*
D001323:Autoantibodies; D003520:Cyclophosphamide