title: Age- and sex-related differences in antibody formation and blastogenic responsiveness of splenocytes from RIII mice developing virus-induced mammary adenocarcinoma.
abstract: Inbred RIII mice, known to be infected neonatally with murine mammary tumor virus so that females develop mammary adenocarcinoma by 12-15 months of age, were examined with regard to antisheep red blood cell antibody responses at the cellular level. Female mice, 3-11 months old, compared to male mice of the same ages had consistent and significant depression of the antibody response of their splenocytes. Furthermore, female mice with adenocarcinoma showed an even greater depression of the antibody response. Spleen sizes were consistently increased in females as compared to those of male mice throughout the first year of life. The blastogenic responsiveness of the splenocytes to the B-cell mitogen Escherichia coli lipopolysaccharide and the T-cell mitogen phytohemagglutinin-P was not significantly different between male and female mice during the same periods, although the responses of the older tumor-bearing female mice to phytohemagglutinin-P were lower than those of non-tumor-bearing female mice. A complex relationship between age, sex, and immune responsiveness was evident in these mammary tumor virus-infected mice, which made it difficult to attribute a specific immune event to emergence of the mammary adenocarcinomas in the female as compared to male mice.
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000276:immunology*; D000375:Aging; D000818:Animals; D000917:Antibody Formation; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000276:immunology; D005260:Female; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D008297:Male; D008325:Mammary Neoplasms, Experimental / Q000276:immunology*; D008324:Mammary Tumor Virus, Mouse; D051379:Mice; D008815:Mice, Inbred Strains; D012737:Sex Factors; D012756:Sheep / Q000276:immunology; D013154:Spleen / Q000166:cytology